The Old Mother
by Un-Ended Tales Unravel
Summary: Somewhere deep in the woods not too far from anywhere there is a place where the trees do not live but do not fall. If you came wandering here wouldn't you be curious of the dark house that sits alone at its center? Don't, I implore you now to turn back. That's where she lives. Arthur and Merlin didn't listen to me. She is awakening and she is hungry for vengeance.
1. Prologue

**This got done faster then I thought. Its short but I hope it gives you a taste of the story to come.**

**I would suggest reading my other stories: Mercy, Always, Buried, and I Will Never Forget first before you read this as the rest of it will make more sense but don't if it is too much. I will try to make it work for you as best I can without them.**

**There is a longer summary for this story on my profile.  
**

**This is a prologue.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

An Incomplete Retelling

There is a place not too far from anywhere where the trees are warped and mangled, devoid of what we consider to be life. They do not grow but they do not fall. It is as if they are frozen there in death. Their bark is black as ink but it is not the trees that hold the nightmares in this place. For that you must go deeper, through their grasping claws to the center. Some have only glimpsed it but there is a house there. From the outside it looks empty and decaying. The inside though is filled with endless rooms. Behind a door there could be a single room or a whole other world. They go as far as she wants them to.

The rooms are what she makes them. Everything inside those rooms is under her control. Even everyone she has trapped there. Her shadows crawl across the walls and make sure everything is the way she wants it. Her favorite things to put in those rooms are none other then the dead themselves. They are the easiest to catch because no one is trying to protect them anymore. After death most believe there is nothing left to be protected from, but there has always been her, very few of the living now of her.

She makes them into her puppets and makes them run, reliving parts of their lives over and over again until she decides they can stop. But she'll never tell them to stop. That just isn't the way she is. Chaos and tragedy are what she lives for. If you could call what she does living.

But of course it would be boring if her puppets just did the same dance over and over again. She'll keep her pets for a while until she becomes hungry. Her thirst is monstrous. Eventually she devours her pray. Those poor souls, she eats them whole. Not only does she consume them but also the lives they once lived as well until there is nothing left of them. Once she is done it is as if they had never lived at all. They are erased from history.

Usually she picks off the souls that don't affect the living world too much, but once in a while she gets bored with her usual routine and decides to take the risk. So she goes after a soul that matters and without it kingdoms could topple and be destroyed, in one version of a universe of course. She could not steal all possible versions of that one soul. That would take her an eternity.

She does so love the taste of those rare souls that only exist in one version of reality. Only under the circumstances in that world did this one-person come to be and die in this way, such a rarity, so delicious.

Once she went too far though and the living began to notice her and the stories about her spread until they reached two sets of ears. They heard what she was doing and they did not take a step back and avoid her, as most would do. Instead they decided to seek her out. They found that dark place in the woods that wasn't too far away from anywhere and they crossed the border into her territory as they still drew breath. The living never came to this place.

They found her and witnessed her cruel deeds. They could not stand it. You see these were protectors. It was in their nature and so when they saw the tragic fate of these souls they could not stand by and watch it happen. She tried to stop them of course as she did not understand how much they were willing to go through to protect even the dead.

They fought her and eventually managed to send her into a deep slumber. Unfortunately they could not kill her. She was an old creature and had been born before death had come into this world. She and her sisters could not be killed. So they locked her away with all her horrors. They froze her the way the trees around her home were frozen. She did not live but she did not die. She was simply there.

When this story was told afterward the storytellers usually just ended it there. People would ask what happened to the two heroes but the storytellers could never answer because they did not know themselves. No one knows. I'd like to tell you that there was an end to their story but I'm afraid that I have never been very good at lying to a reader. Someone once told me that a hero's fate was always the most tragic. Take from that what you will, but I'm afraid none of this story is for certain. It has been passed down through many generations and it may have changed along the way.

I wish I could tell you the original story but the only one who knows it now is her but our heroes sent her into a deep slumber.

But nothing stays asleep forever and locks rust and decay until they become too weak to hold their prisoner inside. I must tell you she is awaking and if things go her way one day she will return to the goddess she once was. She will stand tall and mighty over the dead once more.

For now she seeks her vengeance for her imprisonment. Her plan is wicked and cruel just like her. I'm afraid I can tell you no more. The rest of this tale must be followed and it begins elsewhere in a kingdom many have come to call Camelot as a prince and his servant leave on a hunting trip.

I tried to warn them. I told them to turn back, but they would not listen.

The Old Mother is returning and we all best be ready when she does.

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!**

**Hello again to anyone who has read my other stories. Its nice to see you again.**

**Hope you follow the rest the story and remember you too have been warned.**

**See you next time.**


	2. Teasers

**As per a request I have decided to put all of the teasers I wrote for this story together and post them here.**

**Part 1 was written for the end of my story Mercy**

**Part 2 was written for the end of my story Always**

**Part 3 was written for the end of my story Buried**

**Part 4 was written for the end of my story I Will Never Forget**

**If you don't want to be spoiled for those stories then I suggest you ready those ones first as it will then make more sense. These teasers mention some of the characters from those stories that will be returning for this one. **

**Hope you enjoy.**

House of Cards

Part 1

A tall-cloaked figure slipped through a large metal door as silently as he could. Before announcing his presence to the hunched figure tucked in the corner, he looked around the room. He had been in here many times but still it left him in awe. The entire room was carved out of obsidian. The shiny stone reflected the contents of the room, which wasn't much.

He saw himself there distorted on the wall. He was pretty ugly to begin with but even he had to admit the reflection he saw looking back at him was monstrous. His hood was down so his cleanly shaven head could be seen. His face was covered in burns and scars.

His face had once been handsome but over time it had been marred by war and sacrifice. Not even he remembered the face he was born with and the time before a sword was thrust into his hands.

He shook his head, tearing his eyes away from the hideous face on the wall. He turned his attention back to the hunched figure on the other side of the room. The person didn't flinch when the metal door closed tightly behind the man.

"Milady?" He cleared his throat.

Slowly she turned around. She was covered in furs and bones of dead animals hung around her neck and from her ears. He furs weighed her frail old body down, causing her to move at a snail's pace. The bones clinked together as she moved, like the beads of a necklace.

The scarred man had grown used to her unsettling appearance, even her long yellow nails that jutted out like claws from the ends of her fingers didn't send a shiver up his spine anymore.

The old woman said nothing, waiting for him to relay his message. Her lips were pursed in a way that suggested she hadn't smiled in a very long time, and her beady eyes stared out at him. He noted that she had traded the wolf's head for a dragon's head that she now wore as a headdress.

"Well?" She finally croaked out.

"We have located the children." He spoke quickly.

"So you found them." She rasped, straightening a little. "But did you catch them?"

He smiled then. "No one escapes me, especially not in death. I put them where you commanded. They won't be able to get away now."

The room was silent for a moment as she processed the information. Then, very slowly, her pursed lips widened and parted into a toothy grin. Her mouth was filled with hundreds of pointy teeth, making the smile even more menacing.

She flicked her right hand towards the scarred man, rattling the bones that were wrapped around her wrist. Understanding the signal, he bowed and silently left the room, leaving his Lady alone.

As soon as the large metal door closed behind him she turned back to the obsidian wall. But it wasn't her image reflected there. Instead she saw the face of a young boy, clutching a sword wrapped in a brown cloth tightly to his chest. She reached out her bony hand, stroking the image. Then she wavered her hand over the surface and the scene changed and she was now looking at a young girl, older then the boy, with curly golden hair that fell to her shoulders.

The old woman cackled to herself. She had been looking for these two for a very long time, now they were finally in her grasp and she had no intention of letting them go. She planned to make them run through the scenes of that fateful day a hundred years ago, their last day. They would run and keep running until she told them to stop, but she would never tell them to stop. Nowhere inside her was there a single speck of mercy to be found.

"Welcome to my house of cards." Her voice was crackly. One of her long bony fingers traced the girl's young face, her nail scratching across the surface of the wall.

"Are you ready to play the game?"

Eternal Sleep

Part 2

The old woman stood huddled in one of the corners of the obsidian room, her furs wrapped tightly around her. Carefully, she removed the dragonhead headdress and placed it gently on the floor to reveal her wiry gray hair. She turned around and looked at her reflection in the shiny stonewalls like a mirror. She had become paler in these last few days.

The crone heard the metal door swing open and closed behind her but did not turn to see the tall-scarred man standing just inside the door. He was silent, waiting for her permission to speak. She took her time. Reaching up with a bony finger, she ran it along her face. There was a small cracking sound. She hissed as a long crack appeared in her aged skin.

"I need more souls." Her voice was crackly. "If I am to keep on living I need more souls." She turned around to face the scarred man, no mercy written anywhere on her face.

"Milady, I have personally caught the two you requested. Those two young women if I am correct." His face gave away no emotion.

"Yes those are the ones." Her eyes narrowed. "There is something troubling you. Speak up."

"If I might say Milady. These two young women were very close with two of the Fates if I am not mistaken."

"That is correct." She looked him up and down, trying to guess where he was going with this.

"Atropos, the third sister, you have her here somewhere. Would it not be dangerous having them so close? She is unstable to begin with."

"There is no need to worry. They will not cause any problems." The old woman traced the crack in her face. "I need those souls."

"I understand."

"There are only a few more souls I need you to collect and then the fun can begin. I want this done as quickly as possible." She ordered. He turned to leave but before he was out the door she added. "Remember, you must not be seen. Not yet."

"Yes, Milady." He bowed and exited the room, leaving her alone once more.

She looked back to the wall, her face moved stiffly into a smirk. "There is no need to worry. I have a very special room made for them. They will not be able to interfere."

Another crack appeared running along her face. She screeched and scratched at the wall where her image was reflected, making four long scratch marks. She took a deep breath and straightened her back as much as she could, regaining her composer.

"It won't be long now." The crone waved her hand over the obsidian. The stone rippled and the face of a young girl in a bird's mask appeared. "You're next my dear." She licked her lips and waved her hand for the image to change.

Now she could see two coffins with glass lids where the two young women slept, one with long wavy black hair and the other with short brown hair, a long scar running under one of her eyes.

"They will not be able to interfere. I will save you both for later." She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes rolling back into her head.

She grinned a toothy grin. "Soon I will have my feast and I shall live forever."

I Will Break Them All

Part 3

Her laughter boomed around the small room carved out of obsidian. The furs shook on her back and the bones she wore clacked together as she shook with evil laughter. She could feel all of the pieces falling into place. Soon, very soon, everything would be ready. She stretched her old frail arms out on either side of her in one stiff jerk. Her furs spread out around her as she spun around the empty room, cackling.

She stopped abruptly as a knock came at the only door in the room. Habit forced her to look at her reflection in the dark stonewalls. Her face was as white as snow and she looked as frail as paper. Several cracks could be seen running along her old face. Her grey hair was messy and the best thing about it was that she didn't care. She would not look this way for much longer.

"Come in." She called in her gravely voice.

The metal door swung open to reveal the scarred man, her most loyal servant. He was tall, just skimming the top of the doorframe with his cleanly shaven head. Dark cloaks wrapped the rest of his body and there was a long jagged sword at his side. A black bladed ax was strapped to his back. He had felled many an enemy with that ax but he never smiled, or showed any emotion at all really.

"Is it done?" She asked, ringing her hands.

"Yes, Milady." He bowed his head as he addressed her.

"Did she scream?" The old woman wanted to know all the details.

"She was a fighter, calling out for friends that could no longer hear her lost soul." He described.

"I hope she didn't give you too much trouble." She put her hand up to his face and traced a new scratch that would soon become a permanent scar.

"I watched her moments before she went to the place between places where I caught her. She was strong and brave. She had a kind heart."

"Why should I care about such details?" The crone sneered. "How was her death? I do wish I could have seen the life leave her eyes but unfortunately the walls would not tell me. My sister was always better at conversing with them." She looked at the dark stone and scoffed.

"It was quick Milady, and she went willingly." He would not say it but he had been moved by the bravery she had shown right before the end, the girl in the bird's mask.

"Surprising since I'm sure out of all of them she is one of the few to know of our existence. She may not have expected that she would become our pray though."

"Do you think your sister knew?" He asked.

"What, that the girl was on my list?" She turned up her long pointed nose. "She did try to save her. Yes, I do believe she did, though she did give up trying to save the girl. Typical. She was always such a solitary creature. I have heard that she's become the Mother Keeper though. Now that is out of character. What was she planning?"

"Milady, what if your sister let the girl go willingly? What if this is a part of her plan?" He was hesitant.

"The girl is mine. She has always been mine to claim." She snapped. "My sister is not permitted to directly interfere in my affairs."

"But she has not directly interfered. The girl has strength and she will not be broken easily." He warned. "Be careful or she may be the one to ruin you."

"How dare you doubt my powers." She screeched. "I will not be overthrown by some mere child. I will break her before she has the chance."

"Do not underestimate her." He cautioned. "She may not be alone. I know you've seen glimpses of the future."

"A future that is not set in stone." The crone spat. "If she shows any sign of trouble I will throw her into my prisons."

"But isn't he down there?"

"You speak of that filthy rebellious young man, Will, I think it was. He will not be able to withstand my power forever." Her voice rose in volume. "I'll break them both. One by one they will be under my control. Running around the pasts that I've built for them. There is no escape."

"Of course not Milady." He bowed his head. "I was only observing."

Suddenly she was standing with her face only inches from his, looking up at him. "Then close your eyes and never doubt me again or I'll throw you in with the rest of them. Don't forget how I saved you."

"Of course not Milady." He would not meet her eye.

"Good." Her voice was smooth and she stepped away. "Now finish the job and bring me the last of the souls on my list."

"Yes, Milady." The scarred man bowed and left the room, closing the metal door behind him.

Her many feet hidden under her furs padded across the floor until she stood in the center.

"I will break them all."

The Trap

Part 4

The old crone scuttled across the obsidian floor with her many spider's feet, running her claw across the obsidian walls. She was impatient, waiting for the scarred man to return with the final souls she had requested. You could even say she was excited if that was an emotion she was capable of. Though it was more of a psychotic smile that now crawled across her pale cracking skin.

"I have slept for too long." She mumbled to herself. "They thought they could trap me in slumber forever. They should have known that I would awake, thirsting for vengeance. I will take it. Oh, yes I will." The many furs she wore shook as she cackled. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot.

"They'll never see it coming." She went on. "Its perfect. I'll have their hearts before the week is out. They will feel my wrath and regret the day they ever dared tangle with me. Their souls will be mine! They were wrong to become so attached to such mortals. I will take what they care for and destroy it. Oh, what chaos!"

Her demonic laughter was cut off when a loud knock came at the metal door in the obsidian. "Enter." She ordered, hunching over a little more, hiding her face under the dragon's head that she wore.

The scarred man slipped into the room. His face was emotionless as usual. There was no excitement there. He merely stood as tall and still as stone, not remembering what it felt like to feel for something. All he knew now was that he must do what she told him.

"Well?" She waved her wrinkled hands, ushering him to get on with it.

"It is done," was all he said.

Her eyes seemed to darken. Vengeance was within her grasp. She could almost taste the end of her enemy's story. With her pointed teeth she would bite off the endings and drag them around in circles until she had devoured their entire tale. None could stop her now.

"The trap is set." She rubbed her hands together. "Everything is in place. They won't be able to resist trying to save the souls I have trapped. No matter what they do they will be wrapping themselves further into my web. Right when they think they have escaped my maze they'll meet a dead end and it will be over." She licked her cracked lips. "So many alternate worlds are hidden behind my doors. Behind one could be an entire world or a single room. They'll never know which one is theirs. Isn't that so?" She turned to the scarred man.

"Of course Milady." He nodded. He had learned not to mention the flaws to her plan. She would not see them.

"Draw their attention then." She ordered him in her crackly voice. "Lead them here."

"How would you like me to do it?" He asked.

"Capture one more soul." She decided. "One more soul should do it."

"Mortals usually cannot see beyond the vale." The scarred man pointed out.

"Sway them in this direction." She told him. "They should be able to hear the voices. Pull them across the border. They'll see the souls between my crooked trees. Everything past the border around my territory is dead. So much death that it is impossible to miss. They will see it. I'm sure."

"It will be done my lady." He bowed. "But what souls should I take?"

"You already have the last girl and boy I asked for. Those two sorcerers." She turned in a circle, thinking.

"Yes, and I locked them behind their door as you requested." He nodded. "Still not sure why you did not also want that other boy. The gypsy boy who once entered your territory with his friend."

"A piece of one of my trees is imbedded in him. His soul will be cursed and will affect events elsewhere." She explained. "He is not important here."

"Yes, of course." He agreed without complaint.

"One last soul." Her many feet padded across the stone floor. She stopped just in front of the far wall and she waved her hand across the dark surface. It rippled. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she searched. "A child." She muttered to herself. "Many souls linger around my border. Which one? Which one?"

Suddenly she froze. Her bony hand lashed out and sunk deep into the inky surface of the obsidian. "There!" She shrieked. "A brother and a sister. Take the younger. Take the boy." The young boy's face flashed across the wall's surface as the crone's fingers left the surface. "The perfect bate. Bring them here."

She did not turn as the scarred man bowed and left her there alone to play out her plan and set the wheels in motion. Destiny would fall into her trap. Oh how fun this would be. All she had to do now was wait. She was good at waiting.

Indeed she would wait.

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!**

**The next chapter will be the proper first chapter of this story.**

**Special thanks to LightningBolt21 for the reviews. I hope this will answer some of your questions. I tried to private message you but yours is disabled. I love your comments and really appreciate the feedback. Maybe I will take yours and Iggyandwold1's advice and rewrite I Will Never Forget so that I may one day actually publish it.**

**Hope you keep following because the game is about to begin.**

**See you next time.**


	3. Entering the Belly of the Beast

**Here it is, the actual first chapter. Sorry if this took a little long.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my many OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Entering the Belly of the Beast

It was supposed to be a normal hunting trip, but when is it ever that easy for the prince of Camelot, especially since a certain young warlock became his servant. Of course to Arthur, Merlin is simply clumsy and terrible at his job. No magic there. Though Arthur can't bring himself to fire him. Wonder why.

The usual route that they took for their hunting wasn't very usual today. Where there should have been a fork in the road there was instead only one path. They didn't think anything of it and followed the singular path. It didn't take them where they expected to go as they made their way deeper and deeper into the woods.

"Are we lost?" Merlin asked on his horse that trotted just behind Arthur's.

"Of course not." Of course they were, but Arthur would never admit that to his servant. "We're going exactly the way we're supposed to be." And they were, exactly where she wanted them to go.

"What's that?" Merlin pulled his horse to a stop. Arthur stopped too and looked the way that Merlin was pointing. Just beyond the normal trees they saw everyday there were more trees except there was something off about these ones.

"I don't know, lets find out." Arthur pulled his horse in the direction of the strange trees. Merlin followed after, wary.

As they moved further and further the trees around them began to change. Slowly they became hunched over and their bark darkened until they were as black as charcoal. There were no leafs growing on their drooping branches. Their trunks were thin and twisted, and bent in strange directions. The branches looked like claws reaching out towards them. They were all but dead and yet somehow they were still standing.

Suddenly their horses whinnied and stopped. Their hooves pawed at the ground and they refused to go any closer no matter how much Arthur and Merlin tried.

"Something has spooked them." Merlin concluded. "I don't think we should go any further."

"Don't be such a girl's petticoat." Arthur mocked. "They're just dead trees."

"Lots and lots of dead trees all in one place. There's something else though." Merlin could sense it. "This place is old, very old."

"The whole forest is old." Arthur pointed out. "It is odd. I'll admit that. We need to get back anyway." He turned his horse around and was about to gallop away from the demented trees when suddenly Merlin gasped and clutched at the sides of his head.

"Did you hear that?" Merlin cringed.

"Hear what?" Arthur asked, turning towards his servant. "What is it?"

"Someone was shouting." Merlin lowered his hands and looked around for whatever or whoever had been shouting.

"What did they sound like?" Arthur didn't like the look on Merlin's face.

"I couldn't make out what they were saying, but it sounded like a girl. She sounded distressed." Merlin listened but didn't hear anymore shouting.

"You're just hearing things. It's probably the wind." Arthur turned to leave again but his horse reared and threw him.

"Arthur!" Merlin called but then his horse did the same and he soon found himself making a very hard connection with the ground.

"Come back!" Arthur shouted as the horses bolted into the trees without them. "That can't be good. First you're hearing voices and now this." He turned back to the warped trees. "Maybe there is something here."

"Whatever it is it can't be friendly." Merlin backed away, not wanting to go any closer. He could feel hatred coming from that place, hatred and pain. It was dark and held many tragic memories. "We could always walk back to Camelot."

"That would take days." The prince stated.

"Then what do you suggest." Merlin just wanted to get as far away from this place as they could. A shiver ran up his spine as a gust of wind ran through the charcoaled trees towards them.

"There's something here. We should find out what it is." Arthur sounded confident but his hand was on the hilt of his sword that hung at his side.

"I wouldn't risk it, just the two of us. Get some of the knights then maybe." Merlin tried to persuade the prince, but he had a feeling he was going to loose this fight.

"Maybe." For a moment it seemed like Arthur was going to turn back and actually listen to Merlin this time, but she couldn't let that happen. Ancient forces reached out as far as they could outside her territory. They were standing right at the border. One more step was all she needed. This was the tricky part.

"Owen!" A girl screamed. Merlin and Arthur turned in the direction the voice had come, but there was no one there.

"Don't touch him!" They heard her voice again and it now seemed to be coming from the dark trees before them. "Leave him alone!"

"She sounds like she's in trouble." Arthur could never resist helping someone in need, one of the reasons why he would one day become a great king, but today that's what she was counting on. Just take one more step.

"I don't see her." Merlin peered through the trees for the girl.

"Owen!" The girl called again. There was so much fear in her voice and it angered Arthur. He drew his sword and took that one last step. Merlin followed him and as soon as he stepped over the line into her territory he felt the change in the atmosphere. Everything seemed to get colder and darker. Arthur didn't seem to notice as his eyes searched again for the girl.

"Do you see her?" Arthur kept searching.

"There." Merlin pointed into the trees where a large figure was speeding away with a smaller figure following close behind. Merlin and Arthur quickly sped off in their direction. It wasn't long before they caught up. The situation became clearer and they drew nearer.

The Owen the girl had called out for was a small boy being carried under the arm of a tall hooded man with an ax strapped to his back. The boy was unconscious and swayed back and forth under the man's arm. He was very young and had a head of very messy light brown hair.

Coming close behind them weaved a girl through the trees. She bared some resemblance to the boy though her hair was longer and darker but just as messy and it whipped around wildly behind her as she pursued the man who had taken her brother. Arthur could not make out her face as she moved too quickly, her bare feet hitting the ground hard as she neared the man.

She was almost upon him when suddenly the hooded man stopped and swung out his free arm at her. It connected hard with her stomach, sending her flying only to be stopped as her back cracked against one of the dark trees. The hooded man did not stay to see her collide with the tree but ran on, carrying her brother further and further away from his sister.

The collision with the tree only slowed the girl for a moment. In seconds she was back on her feet, she didn't even look hurt. She would not be taken down so easily. Arthur and Merlin watched this with wide eyes in awe. They ran faster to try and help the girl.

The hooded man seemed to be running towards something at the center of these dead looking trees. As they approached it the form became clearer and they could soon make out the tilted shape of the abandoned looking house. What windows it had were shattered and the door looked so fragile that it could be knocked off its hinges by a simple gust of wind. The roof seemed to be caved in and everything inside was dark. But the hooded man ran towards it. The girl tried to quicken her pace to reach him before he made it to the haunted looking house. Arthur and Merlin did the same.

Arthur drew his sword but saw that they would not be able to reach the man in time. The girl cried out as the hooded man wrenched open the decaying door and disappeared inside. She came to a stop a few feet away and fell to her knees in defeat.

"No!" She cried, crystal like tears poured from her violet eyes. Merlin got to her first and knelt down beside her. He reached out to her but she pulled away. Her large eyes met his.

"We're not going to hurt you." He spoke soothingly. "There's no need to be afraid."

"Come on, we cannot delay." Arthur came up next to them, sword still in hand. "We can still catch him. He is trapped in that house."

"Are you mad?" The girl got to her feet and stepped away from them. "There is no catching him now."

"He cannot stay in that little house forever." Arthur tried to reassure her. "We can get your brother back." He took a step towards her and she took another step away.

"Are you so incompetent that you don't know where you are?" There was anger in her eyes. "So unobservant that you don't understand that there is nothing that can be done now?"

"What is it about this place that scares you?" Merlin asked.

"You don't know?" Her look of anger turned to confusion. "Have you not heard the stories?"

"What stories?" Arthur asked, sheathing his sword.

"You really don't know." She realized. "I thought everyone knew. I thought that as soon as you passed beyond the veil you would be warned of this place."

"Passed beyond the veil?" Arthur was confused.

"You haven't passed." She looked at them closer, her eyes widening. "Who are you?"

"I am Prince Arthur of Camelot." He introduced himself. "And this is my servant Merlin."

"You are flesh and bone." She seemed so surprised. "There is blood running through your veins. Why are you here?"

"We heard you calling for your brother and we came to see if we could help." Arthur explained.

"You heard me?" She took another step back, away from them. "I don't understand. That isn't possible."

"What is this place and why are you so afraid of it?" Merlin asked the important question.

"We are all warned of this place and told never to go near for she sleeps here." Her voice quaked as she told them. "We came too close. I thought she was still asleep but she isn't anymore."

"Who is she?" Arthur asked.

"The Old Mother." The temperature lowered as her name was spoken aloud and the trees around them seemed to darken and grow more crooked and bent. "A creature so evil that they sent her into a deep sleep, but it isn't holding. She's waking up."

"Why is she so evil?" Merlin wondered.

"They say that if she eats your soul you will be erased from this world as if you never existed at all." The girl began to cry once more. "Now she has Owen."

"But we're going to get him back." Arthur reached for the door.

"No, don't go any closer." She yelled, stopping Arthur inches from the door. "If you go inside you'll be lost too."

"You would leave your brother to her?" Arthur couldn't accept that there was no way to say the boy.

"Do not think me so weak and afraid." Her eyes hardened. "I would never leave him. It's my fault he was taken. I was supposed to protect him. It is my job to get him back, but you cannot come with me."

"We cannot let you go alone." Arthur insisted.

"You can and you will." She stood tall. "I am going alone."

"If she is as evil as you say you cannot take her alone." Merlin pointed out.

"I know."

"You will still go even though you may never come out again?" Arthur was surprised.

"He is my brother." She turned towards them. "If he falls I will fall with him."

"You are a courageous young one. What is your name?"

"Jay." She told him. "Jay Ardent."

"Well Jay Ardent." Arthur nodded. "I admire your courage but as there is nothing to stop you going in there is also nothing to stop us from coming with you. You cannot do this alone."

"But you may never come out." She warned them. "Once beyond that door there is no turning back."

"Then there is no turning back." Arthur turned the handle of the door and suddenly all three of them were inside, without remembering walking through the door at all.

"We're in the belly of the beast." And it was true, for inside bared no resemblance to the house's outer appearance. They stood in a long, thin hallway with a high ceiling and there were doors lining both walls. The hall stretched out before them and from where they stood they could not see the end.

"They're locked." Arthur said as he tried the handles on a few of the doors.

"Owen!" Jay tried calling out for her lost brother as if he might reply but they were surrounded by silence.

An old creature laughed in her obsidian room. It had been almost too easy. She was going to enjoy this. Oh, yes this would be so much fun.

**Thanks for reading and please if you be ever so kind to REVIEW!**

**The reviews I have read so far have been amazing. For those who suggested it I am in fact rewriting I Will Never Forget so that all the characters are original and not connected to Merlin. Who knows maybe I will be able to publish it. **

**Hope you keep following because she has a few tricks up her sleeve and it will be anything but easy for our heroes.**

**See you next time.**


	4. Ghosts Walk These Halls

**This one is a little shorter because I am getting it up a lot faster. No writers block today apparently.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Ghosts Walk These Halls

"Is it going according to your plan?" The scarred man asked after returning to the obsidian room where his lady watched over the progress her prisoners were making.

"Everything is going perfectly." She grinned, watching three people walking down one of her many hallways. "They think they'll be safe from my horrors if they all stay together. Fools. This is my realm. I am the one in control here. Soon they will find themselves ripped away from each other. Won't that be fun to watch?"

"Very entertaining." The scarred man nodded but did not smile.

"We'll watch them loose their minds in the twists and turns of my house." Her laugh was menacing. "What did you do with the boy?"

"He is behind his own door, waiting for his sister." He confirmed. "Would you like me to fetch her?"

"Not just yet." Her beady eyes found the girl's face on the dark reflective surface of the wall. "Let them have their guide for now. Let her fill their heads with stories. Maybe then they'll have some idea of who they're up against."

"Of course Milady." He bowed and left her to watch her plan unfolding and he would wait until she had further commands.

Our heroes, now inside the house, are a little bit lost. They've been walking down the same long hallway for what has seemed like hours, though one can't be certain about anything in here, especially time.

"Are all of these doors locked?" Merlin asked as he tried to open another one.

"So far it seems that way." Arthur confirmed as he too tried the handle of another door.

"That's the point of this place." Jay stared down the never-ending hallway. "She made it to drive people out of their minds. Nothing in here flows normally."

"How do you know all these things if this place is so dangerous?" Arthur turned to the strange young girl. "From the way you've described it I'd say no ones ever made it out of here alive. So how do you know so much?"

"Like you said, no one has ever made it out of here alive." She didn't look at him when she spoke.

"What is that supposed to mean?" But Jay didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were fixed at something further down the hallway. Arthur and Merlin followed her gaze and just managed to catch a glimpse of something moving before it disappeared and everything became still once more. They weren't the only ones walking the halls. There was something else out there and it gave them all chills.

"What was that?" Merlin voiced the question.

"Nothing." Jay said, snapping out of her daze.

"That was not nothing." Arthur turned to her. "What aren't you telling us?"

"It would take me a lifetime to explain madness to you. All I'll say now is avoid the shadows." Jay looked at them. "They don't like it when you mess with the story."

"Jay, you're not making any sense." Arthur shook his head.

"You left sense behind when you walked through that door." Something had changed in Jay; her eyes were no longer full of fear. She had seen something, the shadows she'd called it, and it had taken something from her. Jay felt defeat and she understood now that the Old Mother knew they were there. This silence would be done soon.

"Jay?" Merlin took a step towards her. This girl had seemed off the moment they had met. Her story was a mystery and from the sight of her patched up clothing it was also a tragic one. She kept pulling away from them as if she couldn't bear to be so close. It was also the surprise they'd seen on her face when they didn't understand what she was talking about before. Arthur had missed it, but Merlin saw.

"Jay?" He said again, drawing her attention. "How old are you?"

"I'm…" Then she hesitated and looked away as if she had to think about it. Her eyes rose and met with Merlin's. "The last I checked I was fourteen."

"That was before you stopped counting, back when counting meant something." Merlin spoke slowly. Jay's eyes widened and she understood that he knew. "That's how old you were when you passed through the veil. Then you were warned of this place because it would affect you the most."

"Yes." Her voice was quiet.

"What are you both talking about?' Arthur was lost.

"We were warned of the Old Mother because she only goes after us." Jay turned to Arthur, her voice grave. "She likes to collect the dead."

"But why would she go after you if she collects the dead?" Arthur moved the pieces around in his head, trying to work it all out.

"You couldn't even see me before you crossed the border into her territory." Jay told him. "I guess I thought you wouldn't help me if you knew, because you all think that we're safe and there is nothing left to protect us from after we're gone."

"Gone?" Then it clicked and Arthur saw Jay in a new light. "I'm sorry."

"No need." She waved her hand. "Being dead isn't so bad when you're not alone."

"All the more reason to get your brother back." Arthur found a new sense of purpose then. Though wrapping his head around this whole ghost thing was hard.

"You should never have come here. You should have turned back." She was angry with them trying to be all heroic. "Why wouldn't you listen to me? You'll get yourselves killed going on like this. She'll never let you leave." She backed away from them and the house around them began to sway and creak. The doors began to shake in their frames as if struggling against their locks.

"Jay, come back." Merlin reached out for her.

"I'll get you killed." She pulled away. The house moaned around them.

"Jay, step away from the doors." Merlin was desperate now. It was true; this place did mess with your mind. A second ago she had been fine but now she was pulling away from them again. They had to stay together if they were going to get out of here.

Suddenly the door behind her burst open and a dark shape lashed out, grabbing her. She screamed and tried to pull away.

"Jay!" Arthur pulled out his sword and pointed it at the shadow.

"Reach for my hand." Merlin tried to reach her but there was some kind of force stopping him. Jay got one of her hands free and tried to reach out for Merlin's. Their fingers were only inches apart. Merlin felt his magic serge through his fingers, pushing him forward against the force. The shadow writhed as Merlin's magic touched it. Its dark, abyss like mouth opened and it screamed. The scream was shattering. Arthur was forced to pull away and cover his ears.

With the help of his magic, Merlin's hand slipped into Jay's and he tried to pull her away from the shadow creature but it still had a tight grip on her. Then something ancient shook through the house towards them. She would not let this boy ruin her plans. She would not let him interfere. She had underestimated his magic and how strong he was. So she added a little of her own power to the mix.

"No!" Merlin yelled as he felt his hand slipping away from Jay's. Their eyes connected one last time.

"I'm sorry." That was the last thing Jay said. She wasn't going to drag Merlin through the door with her as she felt the shadow strengthen. So she let go.

"Jay!" Merlin reached out for her as she disappeared through the door, but it closed before he could get to her and he just ended up slamming into the wood.

"No!" Arthur yelled in frustration behind him. "We were supposed to protect her."

"She let go." Merlin was in shock. "Why would she let go?"

"We said we wouldn't let her go it alone." Arthur collapsed to the floor, his head in his hands.

"She's trying to separate us." Merlin realized. "That's the Old Mother's plan." He turned towards Arthur, but Merlin had figured it out too late as the floor suddenly opened up under him.

"Merlin!" Arthur tried to grab his friend's hand. He just skimmed his fingertips and then Merlin was falling until the darkness below swallowed him.

Because her plans always work and there was nothing they could have done to stop her. Makes you wonder doesn't it. It makes you consider the possibility that she will succeed in her vengeance. Maybe our heroes won't make it out after all.

"I lost them both." Arthur backed into one of the walls as he watched the hole in the floor disappear. He was alone.

Then the door beside him creaked open.

**Thanks for reading and I will update faster if you grace me with your REVIEWS!**

**So everyone is on their own now. For those who have read my other stories that connect with this one please let me know which of those characters you want to see make an appearance in this one and your ideas on how you want me to bring them back. It would help me out a lot because I am writing this so you will enjoy reading it.**

**Hope you keep following because I know I want to know what is behind that door.**

**For those that it does concern, after this author's note there will be a little prologue for the rewritten I Will Never Forget that I am working on. It gives you an idea of how I am changing the original story. Please tell me what you think. This idea is still in the process so things might change.**

The Great Disenchantment

Pentimentaire is a land of kings and queens, an old land that has been inhabited for thousands of years. A great kingdom ruled by a line of kings that has not been broken since the first settlers made their way to shore and discovered the thriving nature. The forests were full and the trees there were taller and older then any they had ever seen before. They could be dated back for a thousand years before that.

The settlers made their home there. They spread out across the land searching and discovering. It wasn't long before this new land had become their home. Their small villages became towns, then cities, and soon they had built a thriving kingdom. Pentimentaire was born.

And in all of the kingdom of Pentimentaire the greatest city of them all was Atlaltal, built into the side of the great ebony mountains. That is where the king reigned from and from there he watched over the rest of his kingdom. The king was once said to us a sort of scrying bowl that, in the ancient language long forgotten, was called the Luminatim. He would use this device to watch over his kingdom.

But alas the Luminatim was lost during the time of the Great Disenchantment. For you see when the settlers came to these lands they discovered much more then just beautiful forests and plant life. Running through the earth and flying through the air was the ever-mysterious power of magic. The magic was one with everything on this land and eventually it became a part of the people who lived there as well. Some had been gifted with the ability to tame the great beast and to wield it in many different ways.

A person would know for sure if they had this gift when they turned fifteen. There would of course have been signs before but it was on the fifteenth anniversary of their birth that they would know for sure. This anniversary was the most important out of all of them for every person who lived in Pentimentaire, not only those with magic, because that was the day their eyes changed. Everyone was born with a shade of brown eyes but as soon as they turned fifteen their eyes would change colour.

The colours could be read just as one would read the palm of your hand and be able to tell you your future. Many have said that the eyes are windows to the soul. When someone's eyes changes the Elders would come and read their eyes. They would be able to glimpse the person's future and the person they would grow to be.

For example, you can tell who is a part of the royal family because when they turn fifteen two golden rings appear in their eyes. One circles around the pupil and the other around the edge of the iris. In the case of magic the person's eyes would turn from brown to silver.

Magic had always been a very influential force in Pentimentaire like the king himself, but there had never been a king who could wield the magic. Usually this had never presented a problem, as the king was content to work along with magic to help the land grow and keep all the lives that lived upon it safe. But of course the balance can never be kept. Things are always changing as new minds have new ideas and not always for the better.

The land had lived in peace for thousands of years with only minor wars and disputes, but nothing as large as what was about to happen. For when the eldest of the five sons of King Radigal succeeded his father after his passing one fine summers morning the kingdom was about to change drastically. This new king, King Fordiber, did not see the coexistence with magic that his father had and his grandfather had before that. To Fordiber, magic had too strong of a hold over the people. He believed that it was only the king who could have such divine power.

Fordiber saw magic as an evil manipulator that was seeking to corrupt the minds of his people and eventually turn them against him. If he were to rule over Pentimentaire then he would do it alone with no one to challenge him. He would not have his people's loyalties divided. So as soon as he became king he took action against magic. The only way he saw it possible to remove magic from its place of power was to remove the people it had already infected so they would not transmit this disease.

His brothers implored him to see reason. What he was doing was madness, but Fordiber had a silver tongue and he spoke to his brother's with his slippery words. Soon they began to see things the way he saw them. Fordiber managed to convince his brothers to join his cause, at least most of his brothers. The youngest brother, Ezgar, would hear none of his eldest brother's madness. Seeing that he could not sway his brothers away from this path he decided to leave Atlaltal with his mother, the once Queen Clarissa, before Fordiber turned against them and declared them traitors.

Ezgar traveled to as many towns as he could to warn the people of the oncoming danger before Fordiber's armies got there. Some listened and fled to the forests like the wild folk had before them. The wild folk had been rebellious to the power of the king and refused to follow one such leader like the others so they left to the forests to live the way they wanted to. Now those with magic were doing the same. The forests were vast and it would be almost impossible for Fordiber to find them all there.

But Ezgar and his mother did not get to everyone in time and he could not convince all to leave their homes or that the king had lost his mind and would do such a thing. Fordiber took all those he found and even the young ones that were suspected of having magic. Even the ones who had not yet turned fifteen, without concrete proof of having magic, were taken.

But Fordiber would not simply imprison them. His dungeons would be overflowing with them if he did. He could not allow them the possibility of rising against him so he put an end to them, permanently. It was genocide.

The ones who had not fled before were taken by the hundreds. Fordiber would not see the destruction he was causing. So many were taken in those first few years until the line of magic was almost completely extinct. Those were the darkest of the dark days. Now people fear the age of fifteen. They fear the sight of silver eyes as much as they fear the Whites.

The Whites are those that when they turn fifteen their irises disappear completely and all that is left are the whites of their eyes. They are cast out and now it seems those with silver eyes were condemned to the same fate. Unlike the Whites, who are simply cast out, they will be taken to the city of Atlaltal to be judged and sentenced for the crimes of their birth.

Fordiber's actions sent Pentimentaire into the time of the Great Disenchantment and he passed down his hatred for magic to his children and they passed it down to their children. The Luminatim was rumoured to have been destroyed during the Great Disenchantment as scrying was seen as a form of magic.

Now, generations later, the Disenchantment continues. King Ultar now rules and he is filled with the same hatred as his ancestor, King Fordiber, and he hopes to pass it onto his children as well, the young prince Altor and his older sisters Maldura and Misdere. But not all hope is lost as there are still those who believe in the Pentimentaire of the past and the one that Ezgar had fought to save. Ezgar may have gone missing during the Great Disenchantment but his beliefs have not been lost and the fight continues. They fight in his name and they will not easily be silenced.

**Hope you all join me again for the next chapter.**


	5. We Only Wanted to Play

**Happy New Years! Here is a chapter for 2013, the first one I have submitted this year.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my beloved OCs and this mysterious storyline.**

**If you want the full affect of this chapter listen to Two Steps From Hell's Photos in Darkness. That's what I listened to while I was writing.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

We Only Wanted to Play

Alone. The feeling was terrifying our prince. He had once thought that nothing could scare him. He was courage and he would go on no matter what, but this time was different. Watching the small ghost being ripped away from them and then Merlin slipping through his fingers had rocked him. It had all happened so quickly as well. Now he had himself pressed up against one of the cold walls, shivering. Was he shivering with fear or was it simply because it was cold? Arthur couldn't tell anymore.

When he had been younger he had hungered for adventure and had sworn to Morgana many times that nothing scared him. For a while it could have been true as well. There was the odd thing or other that made him jump, but there had never been anything that had left him frozen before, completely lost for what to do next. All he wanted was to run from this house and get as far away from here as possible, but he could no longer see the door they had come through at the end of the hallway. He would have preferred to do the running with a certain clumsy servant at his side and could not very much return to Camelot without him.

With that thought in mind, Arthur managed to push himself up and away from the wall, but he didn't get far before the creaking of an old door opening stopped him in his tracks. He didn't want to look but knew that there was nothing else he could do. So as slowly as he could the prince turned around to face whatever horror would come running at him next with his hand on his sword.

The door opening had been the one right next to him while he had been stuck to the wall. The haunted wood creaked as it opened ever so slowly to reveal…nothing. There was no monster standing in the doorway licking its chops as it eyed its next meal. There was no dark apparition either like the one that had suddenly lunged forward and taken Jay back into the darkness with it.

Instead there was nothing, absolutely nothing. Arthur peered into the room and found that it was empty. It was a simple wooden room with no windows and no persons to speak of either. So what was Arthur to do? Walking down the endless hallway had done nothing for them before. All the doors had been locked before and now this one was opening right in front of him. Jay had warned him that this was the Old Mother's territory. So what if she had opened the door wanting Arthur to step through it, knowing full well that his death lay on the other side?

But Arthur could see nothing of the sort. It was just an empty room. Then came to question of if it was just an empty room then why would he go in at all, one might ask? The house was a maze and what looked like an empty room could be something quite different.

Arthur took a step towards the empty looking room and stumbled over something he could not see. He stumbled right into the room, the door slamming shut behind him. His heart pounded furiously inside his chest. It quickened its pace as he heard something drop to the ground just behind him. Again, he did not want to turn around, but he would not show such cowardice as to let the enemy stab him in the back.

He thought of an honourable death as he turned around to face the fiend. Then he stopped. It didn't look like a fiend at all. She was just a little girl in a simple white dress and a white ribbon tied into her dark hair. Arthur almost sheathed his sword, but then he had the thought that if he hadn't noticed the girl then what else had he missed.

"Hello." He said, lowering his blade from the child, but she merely stared back at him with her wide dark eyes not saying a word.

"Has the Old Mother trapped you in here as well?" Arthur asked, trying for any kind of response. The child's silence and continued stare was beginning to unnerve him.

'Trapped?" She finally said and the room seemed to vibrate as her young, innocent voice rang out.

"How long have you been here?" Arthur tried, accepting his small success. Though the affect her voice had on the room was strange. He didn't know what to make of it.

"We've been here for what seems like eons." She began, her eyes darkening. "We've been waiting for so long. Alone."

"We?" Arthur looked around in search for the other that she spoke of.

"We." The girl nodded, dark circles forming around her eyes. "We." She repeated, but this time her voice was colder and less innocent as if the girl who spoke now was completely different then the one who had first spoken to him.

"I don't understand." Arthur took a step back away from the strange child.

"No one ever understands us." She tilted her head to the side at an awkward angle. "They fear us and they cast us away." Her face suddenly turned sad and the dark circles disappeared from around her eyes. "Even mommy told us to never come back." She spoke with the first voice.

"I'm sorry." Arthur took another step backwards towards the door.

"Sorry?" She looked surprised, her eyes widening and her head snapping up again. "None of them were sorry." The dark circles returned around her eyes and he knew the other side of her had returned. "We made them a promise before they hung us up. We said we'd make them sorry and we don't break our promises."

"Hung up?" He didn't understand their strange voices.

"They killed us!" Her eyes were furious and in a second she had closed half the space between them. Arthur backed away further, not wanting her to be so near. "They had no right!" She shrieked. "We had done nothing wrong. We only wanted to play."

"I'm sure you did." Arthur tried to speak calmly, not wanting to anger her anymore.

"Mommy once told us that it is right to forgive." The first innocent voice spoke. "But we can't. We cannot let it go." Her head shook and the dark circles were back. "We don't want to let it go. She said that none of them would care if one day they couldn't remember us anymore." She looked angry.

"She?" It clicked in Arthur's mind. "You mean the Old Mother."

"The hag!" She screamed. "Do not mention her name to us."

"Sorry." Arthur said quickly, taking another step back. The girl began to sway back and forth as if by some unseen wind. He looked down and noticed that her small pale feet were not touching the ground at all, but just hanging there. Her head suddenly fell forward and he heard a terrifying crack. The room was filled with silence.

The girl's small body swayed back and forth as if some invisible rope held her up. All Arthur could hear was his own heart pounding in his chest as if any moment it would rip out of him and run away as he so desperately wanted to. He didn't notice but his grip around the hilt of his sword had tightened.

"They killed us." Her voice was soft, but she did not look up. "Why? How could they do it?" Then her neck snapped up and she gasped, dark circles again around her sunken eyes. "How could they?" Her voice filled the room and everything seemed to darken.

Arthur backed away from the floating girl even more. He knew the fear on his face was obvious.

"Do we frighten you?" Her eyes were wide and her dark irises were small in the sea of white. "We frightened them too. Do you mean to use that sword on us?" Her ghostly pale finger pointed at his sword. "Do you want to kill us too?"

"No." But his voice was not sincere.

"We don't believe you." She said it like she was singing a demented song. "You're just like them aren't you?" She started to float closer, without a sound.

"No, I'm not." But he couldn't back away from her anymore with his back up against the door. He fiddled for the handle. When his trembling hands finally closed around the cold metal though he wiggled it and it was locked. He tried again but it wouldn't budge.

"Are you trying to run away?" Her voice had become more menacing. "Why don't you stay and play with us?" She reached out her cold dead hand towards him.

He had to get out. He had to get away from her. The fear of not knowing what she would do when she reached him was horrifying. A whole number of possibilities ran through Arthur's mind and he didn't like any one of them. He tried the handle again but it wouldn't budge and she was still coming ever closer. Her slowness built up the fear dripping off of the walls in the room, the silence adding to that.

Finally giving up on the handle, he turned back to the spirit and razed his sword at her. She stopped for a moment. Her face showed shock at the sight of the blade, but then it melted away and her sunken eyes fell on him, her neck making a chilling cracking sound as it moved.

"You're no different." The voices seemed to mix now as a ghostly tear fell from her dark eyes. "We only wanted to play."

"I'm sorry for what happened to you. I really am." He tried, not lowering his sword.

"Don't lie to us." She shook her head very slowly. "We don't like to be lied to. Mommy lied to us."

"I'm not." He swore.

"Yes. You. Are!" She screamed and ran at him. Arthur gasped and closed his eyes. But she never reached him.

Suddenly the door behind him opened and a hand pulled him through, shutting the door on the demented girl, her screams disappearing. Arthur gasped and puffed on the carpet of the hallway. Whoever had pulled him out did not stay to see if he was okay. Arthur got to his feet in time to see someone in a bird's mask running down the hallway away from him.

"Wait!" He called out, running after them. The person in the bird's mask stumbled a little, glancing back before disappearing through another door.

"Who are you?" He grabbed the door they had dashed through and swung it open. The question died on his lips, as he was met not with another room but a forest. He didn't notice when the door shut behind him. He quickly spun around but the door was gone and he was surrounded by nothing but trees.

Where was he now?

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!**

**I did theme this as horror for a reason. Maybe now you know why.**

**The reviews so far have been fantastic along with the support for my rewrite of I Will Never Forget. Please keep writing because I could really use some suggestions for what will happen next and how I will add in the characters from my other stories.**

**By the way, does anyone know who the person in the bird's mask is?**

**Hope you keep following because Arthur isn't out of the woods yet, in fact he's right in the middle of them.**

**For anyone who it may concern. Here is a list of the names I am changing in I Will Never Forget. Please comment and tell me what you think or if any of them need to be changed. Suggestions are welcome.**

**Uther=Ultar  
**

**Arthur=Altor or Al  
**

**Hunith=Hootina or Hootie  
**

**Merlin=Jay (I know that is the name of a character in this story but I wanted his name to be the same as a bird's. Does anyone have a better one?)  
**

**Aida=Ida (This was how it was originally meant to be spelled but I just did it wrong the first time and didn't realize until later.)  
**

**Joone= Joone Tellar and Joone Ardent  
**

**Theo=Leo (I have very good reasons for changing this one)  
**

**Nimueh=Psyche  
**

**Camelot=Atlaltal  
**

**Albion=Pentimentaire  
**

**Sir Galahad=Sir Gij  
**

**These are the ones I've changed so far.  
**

**See you all next time.  
**


	6. The Black King

**Here's the next chapter. School is coming up again soon so I'm trying to get out as many chapters as possible before then.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this strange storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

The Black King

The dark forest surrounded Arthur. He could feel it closing in around him as if it wanted to suffocate him. He had to get out. The direction didn't seem to matter as he started running. The trees seemed to bend towards him, trying to get in his way. Why would he ever expect anything to be easy in here? He could almost hear laughter echoing around him and it chilled him to the bone.

The shadows looked like any second they would try to grab him and drag him off to some dark place. He shivered to think of what might of happened to Jay when they got her. Then there was Merlin. Arthur couldn't get the image of him falling through the hole in the floor out of his head. If he had only been faster and gotten there just a little bit sooner then maybe he could have saved him. But the reality was that he hadn't been fast enough and he had gotten there too late.

Where was Merlin now? Was he locked behind one of these many doors? Arthur hoped that Merlin hadn't been locked in a room with a creature like that two faced girl. Arthur had only just escaped her claws because of the strange figure in the bird's mask. Who had they been?

When Arthur had followed them through the door they had just disappeared. He looked around for the bird's mask but all he saw were the dark trees. They were more alive then the ones that surrounded the house but they shared the same darkness and demonic feeling.

But Arthur was not the only one running through the dark woods. He heard footsteps not too far away as someone bolted through the trees. The footsteps sounded frantic. Arthur searched for the source and glimpsed a shape between the trees.

"Hello!" He called out, but the person didn't stop. "Wait!" He ran after the stranger, ducking and dodging branches and roots. He followed the stranger until he suddenly could not see them anymore and effectively stumbling out of the forest all together, finding himself on an unfamiliar cliff.

The stranger burst from the forest shortly after in a clumsy manner that was unmistakable. His raven hair was matted with sweat and he was panting hard as if he had run a very long way. But the servant that Arthur had come to know looked very different now. He didn't sport his usual attire. Instead he wore a long grey cloak and there was a long sword attached to his belt. In his right hand he held a tall staff with a gem of sorts twisted into the wood at the top. The servant also wore chainmail.

"Merlin?" Was he in some kind of fight? But his friend did not turn when he spoke. Instead he walked to the edge of the cliff and stared down at something, fear obvious in his eyes.

"Camlann." Merlin breathed the name. Arthur came to stand next to him and gasped. They were looking over a great plane in which a large battle seemed to be taking place. One side wore the red of Camelot and the other looked like a group put together with people from all over the place. They looked less organized then the knights of Camelot. Some of them even looked like simple farmers.

"What is going on?" Arthur stared with astonishment. It was as if the people were fighting against the authority of Camelot. But that just couldn't be true?

The two groups clashed and Arthur could already see a horrifying number of fallen and the number was increasing rapidly. He wasn't sure what to think as his men cut down the people. Or the other way around when the people would surround a knight completely, taking him down in a group. Those fighting against Camelot may have looked disorganized but they seemed to have a tactic. There were much more of them then there were knights. They may not have been as skilled but they fought with great purpose.

Beside him, Merlin looked furious and terrified at the same time. He seemed to be searching for someone amongst the battle. Then he saw her and leaned a little further over the cliff.

"Morgana!" He called to a woman with long flowing black hair dressed in silver armor. She swung her sword with great skill as she fought a knight of Camelot, finishing the fight quickly. When the knight fell she followed the sound of someone calling her name and looked up to the cliff. She waved her sword in the air to signal to Merlin that she saw him. Merlin looked relieved.

"I'm not too late." He sighed.

"Oh, but you are too late." A voice said menacingly behind Merlin. His eyes widened and he turned just as this new enemy thrust forward with his sword. He lunged with such force that Merlin's chainmail did nothing against the attack. Merlin gasped and doubled over slightly as the sword went right through him.

Arthur froze. It had all happened so quickly. One moment Merlin had been standing there strong and relieved and now his face showed such sorrow and pain. But what really ripped out Arthur's heart was the sight of the person who had attacked his friend. It was Arthur himself, wearing black armor. The look on this other Arthur's face had no clue of remorse for what he had just done.

"Goodbye old friend." The other Arthur withdrew his sword with a sneer. Merlin fell forward onto the grass, gasping.

"No!" The Arthur standing in shock turned at the sound of a woman screaming and spotted Morgana again. She withdrew her sword from her opponent with a cry and wasted no time in making her way through the crowd to the cliff where she had just seen her friend fall.

"We meet again Morgana, my sister." The other Arthur smiled as he turned to see Morgana approach him.

"You are no brother of mine." She spat at him, her eyes darting between the dark Arthur and Merlin who was still gasping on the ground, clutching his stomach. His staff had rolled away from him.

"Your rebellion will be squashed quickly." The dark Arthur laughed.

"You underestimate us." Morgana tried to sound confident.

"You fight with nothing but villagers who you've taught how to fight in only a few months." He mocked. "They cannot stand against my army of well trained men."

"We have more cause then you. You tyrant!" Morgana yelled.

"Oh, no need to shout, Morgana." The dark Arthur shushed her. "They will hear the cries as their leader falls soon enough." He readjusted the sword in his hand, blood still dripping off the end.

"I will strike you down!" Morgana cried as she charged her estranged brother. Her back hair whipped around in the wind as their swords met.

As the two of them fought, our Arthur snapped out of his shock and quickly dropped down at Merlin's side. His friend was still holding on, but just barely. Arthur rolled him onto his back and tried to stop the blood gushing from Merlin's wound, but it just kept coming,

"Hold on Merlin." Arthur pleaded. "You have to hold on. You're going to be alright."

The fight went on next to them as Morgana beat down her sword on the dark Arthur. There were tears in her eyes. She had come too far and lost too much to lose this fight. Her revolution would succeed. She was going to save the realm like she had promised. Like she had promised Merlin.

Our Arthur heard her battle cries and found he was hoping that she would win. This other, darker, him didn't deserve to rule. Arthur didn't know the whole story of what was happening here but he could guess that something had gone dreadfully wrong. Morgana was meant to be the one lusting for power and Arthur was supposed to be fighting to stop her. But here, in this strange place the roles seemed to be reversed as Morgana fought for the people and Arthur was the tyrant.

Arthur didn't want to believe this place was real. It was just another one of the Old Mother's tricks. But it felt real, Merlin's blood felt real on his hands. He shouldn't have let Merlin out of his sight. The servant was always getting into trouble.

There was the sound of metal clashing against metal as Morgana dodged and deflected the dark Arthur's attacks. This darker version of him smiled as he jabbed at his half-sister. This fight was to the death and they both knew it. They fought harder and for a moment it looked like the dark Arthur was getting the upper hand, but then Morgana twisted her sword hard to the right. The dark Arthur's arm was wrenched sideways and his bloody sword flew from his hand.

There was no time to retrieve it as Morgana pointed the tip of her sword at her half-brother's chest. He raised his hands, but there was no fear for his life written on his face. Instead he smirked. His smirk confused Morgana and frightened her. This Arthur had always seemed to frighten her, but soon this nightmare would be over.

"You can't do it." His words were silky and sly. "You never had the guts. You were always weak. I don't know how you could have ever become their leader. You can't save anyone. You couldn't even save Merlin."

"Shut up!" Morgana yelled. "You're wrong about me. You never knew me."

"I know you better then you know yourself." He took a step towards the point of her sword. "I know that you can't kill me. We're family."

"Not anymore." Her eyes hardened. "I have a new family now."

"Yes, and its bleeding out all over the grass." He grinned. "That family of yours is dying."

"At least I have a family." She shot at him. "You have no one, least of all a sister."

He didn't think she would really do it. She caught him by surprise when she suddenly stepped forward, imbedding her sword in his chest. He coughed as blood slipped past his lips.

"Goodbye brother." Morgana's voice was sad as she retrieved her sword and he fell to the ground. Her sword had gone right through his heart. He was gone in seconds.

Sure that he was truly dead, Morgana walked to the edge of the cliff overlooking the battle. "The Black King is dead!" She yelled, thrusting her sword into the air. The information spread quickly and the rebellion roared with triumph. Those loyal to the dark Arthur began to retreat. Morgana saw this and knew that the battle was won. Her work was done.

"Merlin!" She ran over to where our Arthur was trying to save Merlin. Morgana didn't even seem to acknowledge that there was another Arthur. It was as if he wasn't there. "Merlin?"

Merlin's eyes flickered open, finding Morgana's. "Morgana." His voice was so soft and weak.

"Yes, its me." Morgana tried to smile.

"I'm sorry." Merlin tried to say. "I didn't get here faster."

"No. I'm sorry that I wasn't here to watch your back." Tears slipped from her eyes. "We did it Merlin. The Black King is dead. Camelot is free."

"I'm glad." He managed to cough out. His eyes flickered.

"Don't go Merlin." She cried. "You fought so hard for this. You have to be here to see it."

"I have seen it." He reassured her, taking her hand. "I have seen it in you."

"I can't do this without you." They had won the battle but Morgana still felt defeated.

"You have always been strong Morgana, and you have the strength to lead us out of the dark." Merlin squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry I can't be at your side."

"Please Merlin." Morgana tried to hold onto him for as long as possible. "You're the closest thing I have to family. I already lost Gwen. I can't lose you too."

"We'll always be here for you. We aren't really leaving." Merlin tried to comfort her in his last moments. "I will miss you my friend."

"And I you." She could not control her tears now as she lent forward and kissed his brow. Arthur couldn't find anything to say. He was frozen in this moment of loss.

"Be brave." Then, for the first time his eyes fell on Arthur, but he didn't look surprised or relieved or anything. He lifted his free hand and pointed at something past Arthur. "Go through the door."

Arthur looked behind him and saw it. There was a door randomly sitting in the grass of the cliff. It seemed so out of place there, as if it was waiting.

"I won't leave you." Arthur turned back to his friend.

"You have to." Morgana didn't seem to notice the conversation going on between these two as she cried.

"I can't go with you." Merlin's eyes were serious.

"I don't understand." Arthur shook his head.

"I am not your Merlin." He explained. "My place is here, in this version of reality."

"But…"

"Go!" Then Merlin went limp and his eyes slid shut.

"No!" Morgana screamed to the high heavens. The sound was piercing. Arthur stumbled back and away from them.

Merlin was gone. The last thing he had told him was to go through the door. He felt like his head would explode. He didn't understand what was going on. Arthur looked at his friend's still body in Morgana's arms before turning away and facing the odd door. The handle moved easily as he turned it.

The door opened onto wooden stairs going up. Arthur could see candlelight coming from above. He looked back one last time and felt the ground shake as Morgana screamed. Arthur forced himself through the door and it closed firmly behind him. He was left in silence.

He turned to look up the stairs, wondering where this maniac labyrinth would lead him next.

**Thanks for reading and please continue the brilliant REVIEWS!**

**Can anyone guess where the stairs will lead?**

**Hope you keep following because the house has more twists and turns in store for our heroes.**

**For those it may concern I have taken in the suggestions (thank you LightningBolt21) and I have made changes to my changes for the names in the rewrite of I Will Never Forget.**

**Uther = King Xerxes**

**Arthur = Prince Alexavier or Alex for short.**

**Merlin = Corbin (it means raven or crow)**

**Hunith = Lucinda or Luci for short. (meaning light)**

**Aida = Alina (also meaning light)**

**Sir Galahad = Sir Danyal**

**Joone = Joone Tellar, but her real name is Carolina Ardent.**

**Emrys = Rakesh (I believe it means "lord of night")**

**The Once and Future King = Dima (I believe it means "powerful warrior")**

**Suggestions are still welcome. **

**Hope to see you all next time.  
**


	7. Not Alone Anymore

**Another day, another chapter.**

**SPOILERS: If you haven't yet read I Will Never Forget and don't want to be spoiled please read that story first before reading beyond this point. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this twisted storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Not Alone Anymore

The top of the stairs seemed so far away. Arthur didn't want to go up and yet he knew he could not go back. Merlin had told him to go through the door. Arthur still could not wrap his mind around the idea that that Merlin was not the same one that had come here with him. He wasn't the same one who had disappeared through the floor when Arthur had failed to get there in time.

But Arthur couldn't just stand at the bottom of the wooden stairs forever, even if he wanted to. There was something about the candlelight that streamed down from the floor above that felt warm and safe, like family. With that feeling in mind, Arthur took the first step up the stairs. It creaked under the weight of his foot. He stopped, waiting for some horror to come slithering down the stairs towards him, but nothing moved on the floor above.

Arthur peeked over the edge of the stairs and into the open space of the attic. There were a few candles lying in the middle of the room. On either side, leaning against the walls were four people wrapped in blankets, two on each side. None of them seemed to notice as Arthur came up into the attic. He looked around at all of their faces. One of them was sleeping. He looked closer.

"Hunith?" But she did not wake as he spoke her name. She looked younger then Arthur had ever seen her. Arthur walked over to her and knelt down. "Hunith, its me, Arthur." Still she did not wake as her chest rose and fell in a constant rhythm of sleep.

"Why can't she hear me?" He looked over to the woman sitting next to Hunith, cradling a bundle in her arms, a child, a boy. The woman had a scarf wrapped around her head so none of her hair could be seen. The shadows in the room started to move and the woman looked up and across the room at the girl and boy. The girl had her eyes closed, but the boy had his hand raised in the air.

The flames of the candles leapt into the air and began to spin around as if to a song that only he could hear. Arthur stumbled back at the sight of the magic as the boy's eyes flashed gold. The flames followed his command as they danced, and the shadows on the wall danced as well.

The girl beside him opened her eyes then and smiled. She raised her hand and some of the flames split in two, now under her control. Her flames and the boy's weaved in and around each other like partners at a dance. Arthur knew that magic was evil and it corrupted. So why was this magic so beautiful?

Arthur stood and backed away towards the stairs, drawing no ones attention. He didn't understand why his footsteps didn't cause them to look up and to wonder who he was. He was so out of place here and yet they didn't notice this stranger.

"Why can't you see me?" He asked aloud. The Merlin he had watched die could see him so why couldn't they? Morgana couldn't see him either. What was going on here? It made Arthur angry and he felt more alone then ever.

Arthur backed into the wall right beside the stairs. He didn't like this feeling. He didn't like feeling so alone. There had always been someone beside him, someone he could be strong for and fight to protect, but now it was just him and he was lost in a world he could not possibly understand. The worst part was that he seemed to be invisible.

"I don't want to be invisible." He put his hands on either side of his head, trying to get a hold of himself. That's when he saw it. The girl had glanced. Her eyes had fallen on him for just a second before she tried to cover it, going back to the floating flames. Her flames had faltered as well.

"Can you see me?" He took a step towards her, but she did not look at him again. "I know you can see me. Please, I'm lost and I don't know where I am. I've lost my friend. I need to find him."

For a moment he started to question whether she had really seen him at all as she continued to move the flames about. Arthur didn't like asking someone with magic for help but he had no other choice. Maybe she hadn't glanced at him and it was just a trick of the light, but then the flames she controlled started to lower and returned to the candles, the boy beside her fidgeted.

She pushed some of her ginger hair out of her face and finally looked up at Arthur. He saw conflict in her eyes but also a hint of understanding. For a moment neither of them spoke.

"You can see me." Arthur breathed.

"I wish I couldn't." She wrapped her blanket further around herself.

"Why?"

"Because you shouldn't be here." She said.

"I don't want to be here." He told her. "I'm lost."

"Aren't we all?" The boy said beside her as his flames too returned to the candles. "So, how'd you get out?"

"Out?" Arthur didn't understand the question.

"Yes, how did you get out of your room?" The boy asked again.

"What room?"

"You don't have a room?" The boy looked confused. He shared a glance with the girl. She shrugged. The boy stood and walked over to Arthur. Arthur backed away.

"I'm not going to hurt you." The boy grabbed his arm, but he dropped it almost as quickly as he had grabbed it. This time it was his turn to take a step back, his eyes wide.

"What is it?" The girl stood.

"He's whole." The boy gasped and the girl behind him stiffened.

"That's not possible." She came to stand with them. "She doesn't take whole ones."

"Are you talking about the Old Mother?" Arthur asked. "She didn't take me. Me and a friend of mine came here to try and save this boy…"

"You walked in of your own accord?" The boy cut him off.

"She must have wanted it that way." The girl rubbed her hands together, nervous. "Nothing happens unless she wants it to."

"I lost the friend I came with." Arthur explained. "I just need to find him and then we'll leave."

"No one leaves." The boy became tense. "She'll never let you go now."

"She can't keep us here forever." Arthur tried.

"She likes forever." The boy's voice was cold. "She's been asleep for so long that she'll take what she can get and never let it go. She'll keep us here, running around and around in the same circles over and over again, making us relive the same moments."

"Each room is a different world." The girl put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Or at least the shadow of that world."

"I watched my friend die in one of these rooms." Arthur almost couldn't say it. "But he said that he wasn't the friend I knew."

"They're alternate worlds." The girl explained. "There are many ways an event can take place. If evens had gone a different way then a new world is formed, taking a different route. The world could be completely opposite from the one you know."

"What do you mean by shadows of those worlds?" He asked.

"These are recreations of those worlds. Memories, if you will. What you see has already happened." Her eyes grew distant. "She likes to repeat history and watch it over and over again. Your friend could die a hundred times and she would make him keep going."

"Don't say that." Arthur almost shouted. He didn't want to hear that.

"I'm sorry." She bowed her head.

"So what about this world. Who are you?" Arthur changed the subject.

"My name is Aida, and this is Jasper." The girl introduced herself and her friend.

"Who are they?" Arthur gestured to the two women and the child.

"That's Hunith." Aida pointed to the woman sleeping. "And the one next to her is Joone…" Her voice faded as she spoke the woman's name, but she snapped herself out of the daze. "The child in her arms is Merlin."

"Merlin?" Arthur was surprised. That little boy was his friend, but this was another world so they weren't the same, not necessarily.

"Do you know him?" Jasper asked.

"He was the friend I spoke of." Arthur told them.

"Who are you?" Jasper looked like he was trying to place Arthur's face as if he had seen if before.

"I am Arthur Pendragon." He introduced himself.

"Arthur?" Aida looked him up and down. "You've grown."

"Have we met?" Arthur felt like he should know him.

"You were very young." Aida explained. "You wouldn't remember if we were a part of your world. We met you two years after Hunith left us and went back to Ealdor with Merlin."

"Why are you all up in this attic?" Arthur finally asked.

"We're hiding." Jasper said. "Hiding from Uther, your father, because of our magic, which is not evil." He said it as if he was trying to convince Arthur. "Joone was hiding us."

"It's a crime to hide sorcerers." Arthur said on instinct.

"Yes, and she paid for it with her life." Jasper spat.

"But she looks fine." Arthur looked over at the woman holding the child. She looked alive enough.

"You forget. We have run through these memories too many times." Jasper flinched, remembering. "Joone looks okay now but she won't be for long, none of us will."

"They found you." Arthur concluded. "I'm sorry."

"I just wish we didn't have to watch it all over and over again." Aida's voice was quiet.

"Is there any way out of this place?" He asked.

"You have to find the right door." Aida looked up. "Even then you will need the key."

"As if finding the door by itself wasn't hard enough." Jasper sighed.

"Can you show me where it is?" Arthur's hopes rose.

"She will have moved it since then." Aida said. "We shouldn't leave our room anyway. I don't want to go through that again." She took Jasper's hand, holding it tightly.

"So you have left your room before." It was possible.

"And we were punished for it." Jasper's voice was like stone.

"Please, I have to find my friend, my Merlin." Arthur pleaded. "We have to get out of here and back to our world."

"Maybe we should." Aida looked over at Jasper. "They shouldn't be here."

"Remember what happened last time." He told her. "Remember what happened to the others."

"This time is different." Aida said. "There is something different about this Arthur and Merlin. There has to be a reason why she wanted them whole. Wouldn't it feel good to mess up her plans?"

"It would make it worth it." Jasper agreed. He turned back to Arthur. "Okay, we'll help you. We know this place better then you anyway."

"Thank you." Arthur was grateful.

"We better go now before she does something." Jasper pulled Aida towards the stairs and towards the door with Arthur following close behind.

Arthur still had so many questions about this place. Why did these two keep calling him whole? Why could only they see him? What had happened last time they had left their room and what had happened to the others they had mentioned? At least Arthur wasn't alone anymore.

Jasper turned the handle and the three of them stumbled out into the hall. Before the door had led to Camlann. Something had changed. This place felt even more haunted then before.

**Thanks for reading and please continue the awesome REVIEWS!**

**If anyone has any questions that I haven't answered yet or that I might not have noticed please tell me so I can answer them so that this story can make sense. **

**LightningBolt21: I can't send you a private message so I will say it here. I loved your name suggestions for the rewrite of I Will Never Forget. Thank you so much for your support. **

**Also thanks to the others who are supporting the rewrite. No updates on that at the moment.**

**Hope you keep following because we're about to go to a very different part of the Old Mother's home with more familiar faces.**

**See you next time (which will hopefully be later today or tomorrow).**


	8. Screams in the Night

**Its shorter then usual but I just needed to update. Exams are coming up so that may affect my speediness at adding new chapters. Sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my tortured OCs and this creepy storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Screams in the Night

The stone floor was cold underneath him. His limbs ached and his head was pounding. It felt like his skull had cracked open. The world around him was fuzzy, but slowly things started to come back into focus. It was dark, only the few torches that hung from the walls lit the haunted hall. But this hallway wasn't like the one before. This one was cold and the shadows were cast on every stone wall. The doors that lined the walls were thick with small windows and bars running across them, like prison doors. Not only that but they were shaped like coffins.

He pulled himself off the ground, looking over his head for the hole he had fallen through, but it was gone. Merlin shivered in the silence of the hallway. He slowly turned to look down the abandoned passage, but he could not see the end. The cells just seemed to keep going. He walked over to the door on his right, took a deep breath, and looked through the window, but the cell was ominously empty.

Merlin felt a cold wind come running down the hallway before him, ruffling his hair. The wind made the sound of someone moaning. Merlin pressed himself up against the wall next to the cell, his heart pounding in his chest. He had never felt so scared in all of his life. Merlin wasn't sure if it was the darkness that surrounded him or the eerie silence that came from the cells that disturbed him more. If he could have his way he'd close his eyes, cover his ears and never move again, but he couldn't let himself be defeated. He had to find Arthur, wherever he was.

Arthur could be anywhere in this deformed house full of its labyrinth hallways and nightmare rooms. The Old Mother had filled it with fear long ago. Some of the nightmares were ancient and had been there for centuries, reliving the terrors over and over again, never being allowed their peace. The ones trapped inside these rooms didn't get their eternal rest. Instead they were dragged straight to hell, and there was no way out.

Merlin pulled himself off of the wall, took a deep breath and started walking forward. Either direction would have been fine, both equally as endless, but there was something about this way that pulled Merlin. It could be described as a silent voice whispering words that no one could hear. Merlin was drawn. This may have been a house of horrors but the mystery of this labyrinth picked at curiosity. In here, though, that could just get you killed.

Merlin didn't have anything to go on so he let his curiosity lead him down the shadowy corridor. All that could be heard now was the crackling of the torches, the only light amongst the dark. Merlin ran his hand along the wall next to him to keep himself steady; barely able to see where he was putting his feet. Even the dungeons of Camelot had never been this dank and dreary.

When someone says prison usually you would expect there to be prisoners as well, to fill the many empty cells. Merlin should have been glad there were no cutthroats locked away down here with him, but it was the silence. The silence cut through Merlin's brain, creating thoughts of monstrous things hiding in the shadows, whispering for him to come closer.

Then Merlin stopped. He wanted to say he had imagined the sound, just as he was imagining so many other things. He stood still in the middle of the passageway and listened, not sure if he wanted to hear the sound again. But there it was again. Merlin flinched, his eyes widening.

What he had heard, or sworn that he had heard, was the unmistakable sound of someone sighing. It was a slow breath out, expelling the air in their lungs. It wasn't a sigh that you hear when someone is bored, but more of the sigh as someone lets out their very last breath. Merlin hated to imagine that there was someone out there now lying lifeless on the floor.

Lifeless. That would be one very good word for this place. Life had never walked these halls or been accepted with open arms here. There hadn't been a time before the Old Mother had worked her demented enchantments and curses on it. It had only ever known this lifelessness. Life was something that went on out there, in the world of the ones who breathe. This house had only ever known what went on after that breath had gone.

Merlin heard the sigh again, but this time it was much closer. So close that Merlin could have sworn he felt the breath on the back of his neck. He span around but no one was there.

Merlin had never been one for ghost stories. He's seen enough that you would think nothing would freak him out anymore. When he was younger his friend, Will, used to tell ghost stories. That was before Merlin discovered that ghosts were real. But the stories had only ever been stories, and there had only been one ghost at a time. It had never been anything like this.

His mind wandered back to Jay and the feeling of her hand slipping from his. Jay had looked so real when they first met her. Maybe it was something about this place, something that brought the dead to life, in a way. But there would be no warm reunion with a lost loved one. Merlin just hoped that he wouldn't find anyone he knew locked down here. This wasn't what he had meant when he had bid them goodbye and hoped that they would rest in peace. This was far from peace. No one should be down here.

There it was again!

"Hello?" Merlin managed to get out, mustering up all the courage he had. He was Emrys, one of the most powerful men to walk the earth. So why was his heart beating so fast? It didn't make sense, but then again nothing really made sense here. Sense was for the sane, and the Old Mother was anything but.

No answer came out of the dark or a voiceless mutter of a reply. Was anyone down here, or had the Old Mother just made this part and forgotten about it? Perhaps she used to use it but had since abandoned it. No. That wasn't right. The Old Mother had opened up the floor underneath him and separated him from Arthur. There had to be a reason, but why here?

"Why would she leave me here alone?" Merlin pondered aloud.

"Because one of humanities greatest fear is to be alone." A spectral voice sighed behind him. Merlin looked around for the source, but there was no ghost to be found.

"Humanity fears many things, even each other." The disembodied voice sighed again. The voice seemed to echo off the walls. "It casts away all that it fears until it is left alone, but still trapped by fear."

"Who's there?" Merlin tried.

"No one." It sighed, seeming to move around the corridor.

"And everyone." This voice was different. It crackled and sounded like it had a glitch. "Why would she leave you here alone, you ask?"

"Who ever said you were alone?" The first voice giggled, still with a hint of a sigh.

"It isn't often that we get visitors." The second voice crackled.

"Or new cell mates." A third voice hissed and cackled. "He doesn't look like much of a threat." Thousands of voices erupted in laughter, booming around the dark, shadowy hallway.

"Where are you all?" Merlin span around, trying to see where these endless voices were coming from.

"We're right here." The first voice sighed again. "All around, and yet we are still nowhere to be found."

"What cell will he take?" A fourth voice asked excitedly, followed by its hysterical laughter.

"There's no more room in here." The third voice hissed.

"I'm sure we can find, find space, space." The second voice glitches on the last two words, saying them twice.

"It isn't up to us." The first voice released a breath of air. "The shadows will decide."

"Not the shadows!" The fourth voice shrieked. "Don't let them near us."

"He brought them here." The third voice spat. "Its his fault."

"Shush." The second voice crackled. "Silence."

"They're here." The first voice faded, and suddenly everything went quiet.

Merlin was alone in the dark again. But he wasn't really. The shadows were coming. That's what the voices had said. A shiver ran up Merlin's spine. These were the same shadows that tore Jay away, taking her to some unknown room, filled with her own kind of horror.

The temperature around him noticeably dropped. The torches on the walls flickered, dimming. A gust of wind ran down the hallway, as if it too wanted to get away from whatever it was. So Merlin ran like the wind. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew that it was away.

He would have kept on running too if the ground hadn't shaken beneath him, sending him off balance. He stumbled, and when he looked up again a shadow was blocking his path. Its darkness swirled around in an almost human shape, almost, but not quite. Then it opened its gaping crevice of a mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream. Merlin covered his ears. It was like the cries of a thousand tortured souls. The voices that had once been laughing before let out screams of agony and betrayal. It broke Merlin's heart, and he stumbled back.

Merlin stumbled back, right through one of the thick doors, now open, and into a stone cold cell. As soon as he stepped through the door all of the screams stopped. The thick wooden door slammed shut, trapping Merlin on the wrong side. He ran up to the door and peeked through the bars of the window. The hallway was empty now. He tried to open it from the inside, but it wouldn't budge.

"There's no getting out that way." A defeated voice said beside him. Merlin turned and spotted a dark form curled up in one of the corners with its knees pulled into its chest.

"Trust me. I've tried." The dark form said, looking up. There was mud and soot staining his face, but Merlin knew him. Yes, Merlin recognized the crushed looking figure crouching in the corner. But he wished that it he didn't.

"Will?"

**Thanks for reading and please continue with the spectacular REVIEWS! **

**Please give me suggestions. I'd love to hear them and would appreciate all the advice. **

**The rewriting of I Will Never Forget is going well and I've started on new scenes that were never in the original. So that is going to be fun to write.**

**Hope you all are doing well and that you continue following because we are heading further into the labyrinth. Try not to get lost or you may never get out.**

**See you next time.**


	9. My Madness

**Can't sleep so I wrote the next chapter. Major spoilers for I Will Never Forget, in my opinion at least, or maybe they're just minor. Its your decision to risk it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my mad OCs and this psychotic storyline. **

**Hope you enjoy.**

My Madness

"Where do we go now?" Arthur asked Jasper and Aida as they looked down the familiar, yet alien, hallway.

"Last time we did this we had help." Jasper explained. "There was a girl with us who said that the walls spoke to her. She said that if you listen close enough you can hear them too and they will tell you the way out."

"I don't hear anything." Arthur listened, but nothing broke the silence around them. They spoke as if these walls were alive, but that wasn't possible, was it?

"I could never hear anything either." Jasper agreed.

"That's because neither of you actually listen. Now be quiet." Aida walked over to one of the walls, placing her ear against the wood. She closed her eyes and listened. "I thought I heard the walls speak to me once back then. It was like they screamed, yelling a warning. That was just before we were caught."

"Why would the walls want to help us?" Arthur still couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea of walls talking. "This is the Old Mother's house."

"She does have control over it." Jasper nodded. "Maybe last time when it lead us on that adventure to find the way out it was just toying with us, having a little bit of fun."

"Maybe we shouldn't listen to it then." Arthur looked at Aida who still had her ear pressed against the wall.

"Will you both just be quiet for one moment." She glared at them, silencing them both.

"Do you hear anything?" Jasper fidgeted. "I don't want to stay in one place for too long."

"I'm only getting whispers." Aida strained to listen.

"Jasper?" Arthur looked over at the young man, almost a boy.

"What is it?" Jasper answered.

"You called me whole. What does that mean?" The question had been nagging at the back of his mind for a while now.

"You are all there." Jasper tried to explain. "There is blood pumping through your veins and you have a pulse."

"Why would that be strange to you?" Arthur was still confused.

"There aren't many live ones in here." Jasper's shoulders hunched and he looked away. "Most, or maybe all, are dragged in here from the place between places, before we can move on."

"Move on?" Arthur didn't like the way he said that. "I've met one ghost today. You can't be saying…"

"That we're dead?" Jasper looked up, a tragic memory in his eyes. "As far as I know that's why the Old Mother takes people like us, because no one thinks to protect us from harm if we're already dead. People believe that after death nothing can harm us, but she can. The sadistic crone likes to watch us run around our pasts, reliving our painful memories over and over again."

"So why can only you see me when the other people in that room couldn't?" Arthur asked the next question on his mind.

"Because the Old Mother didn't take their souls." Jasper explained. "Only the ones she has taken will be able to see you."

"The other Merlin could see me." Arthur's voice fell. Another version of his friend was trapped here, reliving that terrible war over and over again. He wished there was something he could do to save him, and all the other trapped souls, but he had a dark feeling that there wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't go back, let alone find that room again.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Jasper placed a hand on his shoulder. He had known Merlin when he was very young. He and Aida had discovered the great destiny he would have. They had been willing to wait for the great Emrys and the Once and Future King to free them, but they didn't make it to see that wonderful day. All they could do was hope their brothers and sisters would see it and walk free. Jasper wished he and Aida could see it, but they never would.

"What happened to the others?" Arthur asked. "The first time you tried to escape, you said there were others."

"Yes." Jasper's hand fell from his shoulder, falling limply at his side. "There were five of us all together. Other then Aida and me, there was Will, Kevia, and Freya. Kevia was the one that found our room, taking us with her. We found the others along the way."

"Merlin had a friend named Will." Arthur remembered the boy that had been killed saving his life. A sorcerer. But Arthur tried to push away his hateful thoughts towards magic. In here the line between those with magic and those without seemed to blur. They were all in the same boat here, and they would have to work together to get out.

"Will was a great guy, very protective of his friends." Jasper remembered. "He didn't deserve that kind of fate, none of them did."

"They sound like great people." Arthur tried to comfort the boy. He couldn't be older then seventeen, the same with Aida, far too young.

"They were. We all had our demons, our own deaths that we didn't want to talk about." Jasper fidgeted, thinking of his own. "We really thought we could do it."

"So what happened?" Arthur was afraid to ask.

"We found the door." Jasper almost smiled, but it quickly disappeared. "That's when it all went to hell. The shadows finally caught up with us. We tried to fight back but they overpowered us. We wouldn't have been able to go through the door anyway without the key."

"Were the others taken back to their rooms?" Arthur wondered.

"No." Jasper looked away. "As far as I know they were taken to the Pit. That's where the Old Mother keeps all the troublesome spirits."

"Then why weren't you taken there?"

"In some ways it was a worse fate, not knowing what happened to the others, living with that guilt." Jasper glanced over at Aida. "At least we weren't separated. The Old Mother knew that without the others we weren't much of a threat. Kevia was the instigator, the brains. Will was very defiant and strong willed, it made the Old Mother angry that she couldn't break him so easily. Freya had a kind heart, but she was powerful and dangerous in a fight against the shadows. I think they took pity on us and took us along. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"I'm sure it wasn't pity." Arthur tried to reassure him. "It sounds like you had quite a team. I'm sorry about what happened to them."

"No need." Jasper tried to smile. "So how were you and Merlin separated?"

"The floor opened under him and he fell through." Arthur shivered at the memory.

"He what?" Aida pulled herself away from the door, looking at Arthur with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, why?" Arthur didn't like the look on her face. "What does that mean?"

"That's what happened to the others. The shadows pulled them through holes in the floor." Aida said quickly. "Merlin's been taken to the Pit. There are dangerous souls down there."

"We have to go there and get him." Arthur said excitedly. He didn't want to wait a moment longer. Who knew what Merlin could be going through down there?

"Not so fast." Jasper put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "One, we don't know how to get there. Two, we wouldn't know how to get out. And three, that's where the Old Mother's power is darkest."

"I don't care." Arthur insisted. "I won't leave him down there. I know he would do the same for me."

"Maybe there's a way." Aida looked over at Jasper.

"Just not one that we know of." Jasper sighed. "This is hopeless." He waved his arms in the air and froze. They all did as the familiar sound of a door creaking open broke the hallway's haunted silence. The three of them turned to see a door open just a crack. Aida took a step towards it.

"Don't." Jasper caught her arm. "It could be a trap."

"Come on, Jasper." Aida pulled her arm free. "What's life without a little risk?" She turned and headed for the door.

"Well life sort of ended for us a while back." He mumbled under his breath. "Last time you said that we got caught in a forest fire."

"We don't have any other leads." Arthur followed Aida. Jasper sighed and gave in, going after them.

Aida gently opened the door, taking a step inside. Jasper and Arthur following close behind. It was another single room. Arthur looked above his head by instinct, shivering at the memory of the two faced girl. He could still hear her screeching in his head. But this room seemed empty.

"An empty room." Arthur whispered. "Odd."

"There are no empty rooms." Jasper shivered. "There's something here. I think we should leave."

"Agreed." Arthur and Aida said in unison as the three of them turned for the door, but it was already closed.

"It won't open." Aida tried to handle.

"I told you it was a trap." Jasper's eyes darted around the room. "Something's off about this place."

"There!" Arthur pointed to a corner of the room. The others followed his gaze but there was nothing there. They looked at Arthur questioningly.

"I swear there was someone there." Arthur blinked, shaking his head. Maybe this place was playing tricks on his eyes.

"Look at the walls." Aida suddenly gasped. They looked around, seeing scratch marks on the walls and same jagged line over and over again engraved into the wood all around the room. But they hadn't been there a second ago.

"Flickering." Arthur almost didn't hear Aida. She was right. The scratch marks flickered in and out of existence. They would be there one second and the next they would be gone.

"A troubled mind trying not to slip into complete madness." Jasper added, looking around.

"They can't let it go." Arthur ran his hand over the jagged line.

"This is my madness." Arthur span round to see the form in the corner that he had sworn he'd seen but it had disappeared. She was standing there, leaning against the corner of the room, her head tilted to the side, resting against the wall.

It looked like she was made up of black smoke. It swirled around, trying to keep this shape. Her hair was gray smoke and it floated around her head. Slowly she opened her eyes and they were pure white. You couldn't look into them long without starting to see black spots.

"This is my madness." She repeated in a ghostly voice, her eyes wandering over to the strangers that had stumbled into her room.

"What's yours?"

T**hanks for reading and please keep REVIEWING!**

**I feel like my chapters keep getting shorter. Please inspire me with your REVIEWS to write more. All ideas and constructive criticism is welcome but please don't be mean.**

**I hope you keep following because we're going back to the Pit in the next chapter.**

**See you next time. Hopefully that will be soon.**


	10. Not Bound by these Strings

**I'm back with a new chapter. Sorry, just been so overwhelmed with exams. Sorry that this update is short.**

**Someone was wondering so the story is sort of set between season 3 and season 4 but its very much AU. It doesn't completely matter.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Not Bound by these Strings

Merlin stared in amazement. This place just kept getting stranger and stranger. He felt like he was getting a punch to the gut at every turn. Merlin remembered the day Will was killed like it was yesterday. He still remembered the ache in his heart as he saw the light leave his friend's eyes, hoping that he would never have to go through that again. Now here he was. Will. It was like the Fates were playing with him. Maybe it was this place. Maybe it was the Old Mother trying to toy with his mind. But he looked so real. He looked so…Will.

This defeated looking Will stared up at him. The look in his eyes was haunting, as if he had lost all reason for going on. The Will he remembered had been a fighter, not one to give up so easily. He held fast to his beliefs, not accepting defeat. Will had taken an arrow for Arthur and protected Merlin's secrets. Merlin had always looked up to his courage and friendship, inspiring him not to give up on his destiny.

How could Will be here?

"Don't look so surprised." This Will smirked halfheartedly. "You can find anyone in this place." He got to his feet. "You look younger then I remember you." He pointed out.

"Do I?" Merlin couldn't imagine why.

"Oh." Will connected the pieces. "You're not my version of Merlin."

"I'm not your what?" He was definitely lost now.

"You must be new." Will looked Merlin up and down. "Allow me to explain. The Old Mother likes to take souls, trapping them in their own specially made room where they are forced to relive some of the worst moments of their lives, moments that will tear them apart. There are such things as alternate universes. You could choose to say no in a situation, but in another version of reality you say yes. You are an alternate version of my Merlin."

"I think I understand." Merlin's head was swirling. "So is everyone in here a ghost?"

"Yes." He folded his muscular arms. Merlin looked at this alternate version of his friend, now noticing the differences. This Will seemed somehow taller, stronger, and…older.

"I'm sorry you died so young." Will sighed.

"No, I'm still alive." Merlin corrected him.

"Are you sure?" Will looked at him.

"Very." Merlin nodded.

"From the look of surprise on your face I can tell that I'm already dead in your version of reality." This didn't seem to disturb Will for some reason. Maybe this place had changed him, or perhaps he was just that different form Merlin's Will.

"You took an arrow to the chest for Arthur when we were saving Ealdor." Merlin told him. "What happened in your version, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all. I was hanged for treason." He shrugged if off like it was nothing.

"What?! By who?" Merlin was astonished.

"Uther." Will elaborated. "It was because I was one of the founders of the rebellion against him. You were one as well and Arthur was our leader."

"Arthur?" This Will's world was very different from Merlin's.

"Yes, he fought against his own father, the tyrant, to free the kingdom from his hate, especially after he found out about what happened to his mother." From what Will was saying it seemed as though this Arthur had never forgiven Uther. He had chosen a different path, siding with magic.

"So you're not devastated over your death or leaving all the people you loved?" Merlin couldn't understand how calm Will was being about this.

"I was, but if you've been in here as long as I have and had to relive it all over and over again you start to see it differently." He leaned against the stone wall of the cell behind him. "It seems like a lifetime since I've seen you Merlin, or any Merlin at all. I've been down here a long time."

"Why are you down here?" Merlin sat down on the plank of wood that almost passed for a bed.

"I wouldn't play the Old Mother's sick game." Will explained. "I guess rebellious habits die hard. I tried changing the events leading up to my death. She didn't like that. She wanted me to follow the script, but I wasn't going to be one of her puppets. Not bound by her strings. She tried to break me. None of her tricks worked. Then I went so far as to try and escape her labyrinth so she sent me down here, hoping the darkness would change me. This is where she sends all the troublemakers and the ones who annoy her. I still fought anyway.

"I had another cell mate before you came." His eyes lowered. "It feels like an eternity since I could walk further then a few feet or at least run. This cell is too small. I don't think the Old Mother will ever let me out. She's moved on to different pray now for her entertainment. It seems she's even taking them whole now." He gestured to Merlin.

"You don't think you'll ever get out." Merlin started to see why he looked so defeated, having lost all hope of ever resting in peace.

"I just want to close my eyes and let the darkness take me, but my rebellious side still lives." Will leaned his head back. "Part of me is still fighting and I don't know why."

"You can't change who you are, no more then the Old Mother can." Merlin assured him. "Who knows, maybe things are starting to change. As you say, she's starting to take whole ones now. Something's happening."

"I've heard whispers from the other people down here. They say that not too long ago the Old Mother had been in a deep slumber. Someone, a long time ago, sent her into the sleep to stop her madness." Will looked up. "She slept for centuries and the souls of the dead were safe from her grasp. Do you think it could happen again?"

"Maybe." Merlin felt his own hopes rising. So defeating the Old Mother was possible. If they could figure out how to send her into the long sleep again, though it seemed as though it wouldn't last forever, but it was a start.

"It's almost a cause for hope." Will scoffed. "That is if we could get out of this cell and if we knew how they had done it before."

"There's always cause for hope." Merlin got to his feet, taking a step towards the alternate version of his friend.

"You!" They heard someone yell. Will stood up straight from where he was leaning on the wall, looking towards the small-bared window in their thick cell door. The shout sounded like it came from the cell across the hall from theirs. Merlin looked through the window and saw the face staring back at him. He gasped.

The one staring back at him was none other then Cornelius Sigan, still wearing Cedric's face. He looked very angry.

"I could have ruled the world if it wasn't for you!" He shouted. "You ruined everything."

"Your idea of how to rule the world wasn't exactly appealing." Merlin shouted back. So the Old Mother didn't only take the goodhearted souls to torture. She tormented the evil ones as well. It didn't seem to matter to her if their hearts were black or not as long as she got her entertainment.

"How could you pass up such power?" Sigan fumed. "Because of you my soul was again vulnerable to the Old Mother. I'm here because of you."

"You didn't make a very good argument for me not to stop you." Sigan didn't seem very menacing from his helpless position behind bars.

"Fool!" Sigan's face was turning red. "I…"

"Shut up Sigan!" Will shouted. "No one wants to hear any more of your whining. It's annoying."

Sigan shut his mouth tight, pursing his lips. He pulled away from the bars and disappeared back into his cell. Merlin stared at Will in awe. Will just rubbed his temples.

"We're going to need a plan." Will suddenly said.

"A plan?" Merlin raised his eyebrow.

"To get out of the cell so we can find out how to defeat the Old Mother." He looked up, a little bit of the old Will returning to his eyes. "There has to be something in this labyrinth house that can help us."

"You'll help me?" Merlin found himself smiling.

"There doesn't seem to be anything else to do." He nodded.

**Thanks for reading and the REVIEWS have been fantasitc, please keep REVIEWING.**

**LightningBolt21: Good luck on your story, don't give up, I'd love to read it when you're done. Hope your surgery goes/went well.**

**Hope you all keep following because defeating the Old Mother won't be easy and they're going to need all the help they can get.**

**My rewrite of I Will Never Forget is going well. I'm always afraid that I'm writing too much. I'm thinking of renaming it something better. Any ideas?**

**See you all next time.**


	11. Lifelines

**I wasn't sure about this chapter at first but I think I like where it's gone now. **

**This chapter is very much connected with my story Always. Just thought you'd like to know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Lifelines

The smoke creature swayed in a nonexistent wind in front of Arthur and the others. Her grin was unnaturally wide as she looked upon these visitors. The creatures gray smoky hair wrapped around her head like tendrils. Our three heroes backed away. None of them had ever seen anything like her before. Her pure white eyes seemed to stare into their souls, seeing their very lifelines.

"Ask." Her ghostly voice whispered in the dark. The sound bounced around the room, slowly fading away.

"Ask what?" Arthur asked.

"You know what." She winked. "Ask the question you all are wondering."

"What are you?" Arthur found himself voicing the question.

"I've been called Atropos before." She tapped her temple. "There were three of us once, and they called us the Fates."

"You cannot be the same one." Arthur spoke for the three of them. "They were just a myth. A bedtime story."

"I like stories." The creature sighed. "In an alternate version of your world we did still exist." She gestured at Arthur, her eyes growing sad. "But I lost my sisters." She wrapped her misty arms around herself and turned away, floating back towards one of the walls where a crack had been cut into the wall.

"I'm sorry." Arthur took a step forward. "I had a sister too once."

"You still do." She spoke with her back turned to them. "Even if you don't see her that way. I feel empty without my sisters." She ran one of her crooked fingers across the crack in the wall. "I want them back." She clenched her fist.

"Where are they?" Arthur was almost afraid to ask.

"Pulled through the crack." Atropos' voice grew cold and dark. "They sacrificed themselves for your world, to save you from our mother, dragging her down to Tartarus. I had already been locked away. I wasn't there." It almost sounded like she was crying, but there were so tears in her eyes. A dark mist seemed to swirl around in her pure white eyes. "I should have been there, always with my sisters. It should have always been the three of us."

Arthur and the others took a step away from the creature. She scratched her claw like hands over the wall, pealing away the wood. Atropos grabbed at the jagged line as if trying to open it. She seethed and shrieked.

"It must be opened." She cried. "We must get through to them, before they are lost forever." The sad creature crumpled against the wall, shaking.

"I didn't mean to upset you." Arthur walked towards her, ignoring Jasper's hand on his arm, warning him to stay away. He reached down to her. She had gone very still. Arthur wasn't sure what to do. This creature seemed so tormented and alone, crying out for her sisters. It was like she had lost a part of herself.

"Such a sweet boy." She flinched, causing Arthur to stumble back. "I don't think I've ever properly met a boy like you. Then again, I haven't met many people." She rose up off the ground, her dark smoke swirling, trying to stay in the same form. "Who people were didn't used to matter to me. That was more of my sister's area, Clotho. The weaver of the life thread."

"I don't think I've met anyone like you either." Arthur tried to put on a smile, finding it hard in this dark creature's presence. "So you and your sisters deal with the path of life?"

"We do." Atropos looked at him questioningly. "You have another question on your mind. There's no need to avoid it. I like questions."

"We are trying to find the door out of here." Arthur told her, even though his senses were screaming for him to keep his mouth shut. "But we don't know where it is and we need the key."

"An interesting request." Her eyes glistened, her previous despair vanishing. "But why would you want to go through the door?"

"We don't belong here." Arthur stated.

"No one does." She shook her head. "Especially not one who is still whole. I can't recall cutting your particular life thread." A pair of rusty scissors seemed to appear out of nowhere. Atropos spun them around with her crooked finger. "You have a noble heart, Arthur Pendragon. Isn't there something your missing?"

"How did you know my name?" Arthur couldn't remember telling her.

"I watched my sister weave your life thread." She was still looking at him expectantly, still waiting for him to answer her question.

"What have I missed?" He couldn't think of what she meant.

"Wouldn't it be better to save them all?" She inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"Is that possible?"

"Defeating the Old Mother has been done before." She looked around and lowered her voice as if someone else might be listening in on the conversation. "Before this she had been asleep for a very long time, but they couldn't trap her there forever. She's woken up."

"Can we put her to sleep again?" Hope rose inside Arthur.

"She will not be defeated by the same trick twice." Atropos warned him. "You'll need something extra this time. There are things that you will need."

"What things?" Arthur was eager. Atropos glided through the air towards him and whispered it in his ear. He opened his mouth to speak but she quickly put her cold fingers against his lips.

"Do not say it aloud. Not here." Her eyes were wide and wary.

"How do we find these things?" Arthur pushed for more information.

"I'm afraid I will be little help for your journey towards the end my dear." Her body swayed in the wind. "I'm only good with endings my dear. I know what you'll need for that ending to happen, but what happens from now until then is a mystery even to me. Clotho and Lachesis would now. I'm sorry." Her voice was ghostly almost like the voice didn't really belong to her. It hadn't been hers for a very long time.

"I'm sure we can figure it out." Arthur tried to assure her, bringing a sad smile to her swirling face. Her eyes softened.

"I am surrounded by my work." Atropos sighed, spinning the scissors on her finger. "It was always my job to cut the life thread when it was time. I am always there at the end. Your friends are very quiet." She looked past Arthur to Aida and Jasper, but they would not meet her gaze. "We've met before, not in person of course. Ever so sorry that your stories were so short, but you were needed here." Aida and Jasper remained silent, shuffling their feet.

"You have another question." Atropos looked back to Arthur. "I can always tell."

"Why did the Old Mother lure us here?" Arthur didn't bother trying to hide his curiosity.

"Hmm. You have quite an important destiny." Atropos hummed for a moment and then continued. "And an even more important death. I should know."

"I don't understand." Arthur knew that he would one day become king in his father's place, but he knew little of the importance of his taking the crown.

"You are a very interesting case. In all of the versions of your own world your death remains mostly the same." Atropos explained. "You are destined to die in one place and one place alone. Nowhere else will do, unlike your friend. The odd one."

"Do you mean Merlin?" Arthur could not deny him being odd, but he wondered why this Fate would be mentioning his servant.

"Yes, the loyal servant boy." Atropos nodded and went on. "You have one death that cannot be changed. In his case there are many different roads he can take to the many different possible ends. I shouldn't say anymore."

"So the Old Mother finds me interesting." Arthur tried to sum it all up.

"Yes, you could say that. The ones who put her into the sleep take destiny very seriously. The Old Mother wishes to spite them by taking you and trying to defy destiny." Atropos told him. "She was never one for rules."

"I see." The situation seemed a lot bigger then he originally realized.

"Oh, I've frightened you haven't I." Her eyes looked apologetic. "I may only know the ending but I can tell you that you will need your servant there with you. I can only guess your road from here." She waved her dark hand through the air, conjuring a small metal man out of nowhere. "Oh, sorry wrong thing. Just another memory." She waved her hand through the metal man and he disappeared, replaced by a small marble with playful swirling colours. "Take this."

Arthur reached up to take it but Atropos drew it out of his reach quickly. She had a sly grin on her face.

"Before you take it I will need something in return for this generous gift and the information I have given you." Atropos' eyes sparkled. "I am a Fate after all. I can't just give things away for free."

"What is it that you want?" Arthur asked warily.

"Just a simple promise." She grinned as if the price would be nothing of consequence.

"What must I promise you?" Arthur felt like the Fate was playing games with him.

"A favor." Atropos revealed. "When the time comes I will ask you for a favor. You have to promise to grant this favor whatever it may be. Can you do that?"

Arthur had to think about it for a moment. The favor could be anything. Was it worth the risk to trust this creature? They needed all the help they could get in this fight. He just hoped that this one transaction would be worth it in the end.

"Well?" Atropos swayed back and forth, waiting.

"It's a deal." He nodded, offering her his hand. "I promise."

"Excellent." Atropos did not shake his hand, instead she offered him the marble.

He reached up and delicately took the marble, as if at any moment it might shatter. It looked so fragile. As soon as it touched his skin a small shock ran through his fingers. There was definitely something more to this little sphere then its swirling colours.

"What is it?" Arthur inspected the strange sphere, wondering what he had in fact bargained for.

"Find the soul that this belongs to." Atropos instructed, her voice growing very serious. "She will be able to help you on your way."

"How will we find her?" There were so many rooms in this house that it seemed an impossible task to find a specific one.

"Have faith." Atropos smirked. "Trust in your destiny. Good luck." She pointed to a door that suddenly appeared in the wall opposite the original door they had come through.

"Thank you." Aida and Jasper whispered at the same time. The three of them made their way towards the door. Jasper turned the handle and it opened. Arthur looked back one last time, knowing he should leave before she had another of her dramatic mood swings.

"Thank you, fated sister." Arthur nodded in her direction as a sign of respect.

"Not even that…anymore." She lowered her eyes and turned away as the door closed behind our heroes. "Maybe I will see you again, before the end. I do so love endings."

**Thanks for reading and please if you be ever so kind to REVIEW! They are a writer's life force so please help me keep going with your comments and questions if you have any. Suggestions are also very welcome.**

**The three Fates are from Greek mythology. There is** **Clotho (she spun the thread of life), Lachesis (she measured the thread of life), and Atropos (she cut the thread of life). Tartarus is sort of an abyss or prison that is below the underworld. Read my story Always for more on what happened to Atropos' sisters.  
**

**So, what soul do you think the marble belongs to?  
**

******Probably won't return to Merlin and Will for a few chapters. Any suggestions for how they escape?**

**Hope you keep following because their next door leads somewhere very interesting, and unexpected.  
**

**See you all next time.  
**


	12. Lighting the Fire

**Got this one up faster then I thought I would. **

**WARNING that there are spoilers for my story I Will Never Forget.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my poor OCs and this messed up storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Lighting the Fire

Our three heroes stumbled through the door as it closed quickly behind them, not allowing them to take their time. The three of them found themselves panting and out of breath. They had only taken one step through the door, how could they already be so exhausted? Was it even possible for a ghost to be exhausted?

"We have memories of what it was like to run out of breath." Aida sensed Arthur's question. "We remember how it feels."

"We did enough of it. Running." Jasper fought to get his breath back, hunching over and placing his hands on his knees. "Enough for a lifetime. I guess once you start running it's hard to stop."

"At least we're doing it together." Aida took his hand. He smiled up at her weakly. These two had been through so much together. They had been separated once before. You could tell by how tightly they were holding onto each other, like any second they will be torn away.

Arthur didn't want to ask what had happened, how they had died. He wouldn't deny that he was curious, but part of him preferred to be kept in the dark about it. He didn't want to know if there had been something he could have done to save them, or if he was somehow at fault.

He shivered as he thought of the Dark King, the evil version of himself. That version had killed Merlin. Arthur could never imagine being capable of doing such a thing, but he had seen it happen right before his eyes. In an alternate reality he had been capable of it. He even found himself glad that Morgana had killed him.

But he didn't want to think about that anymore, so he shook the memories from his mind, pushing them away. They would always be there, and Arthur would always have to live with having this knowledge. He wished he could tear those memories from his head. He found himself wishing again that he had never come here, that he hadn't put Merlin in this danger, and that he hadn't lost him through that hole in the floor.

Arthur looked over at Aida and Jasper who were still trying to get their breath back. If they hadn't come here these two would still be sitting in that attic, reliving their nightmares. They would have felt defeated for the rest of their eternal torment, with no hope of a way out. They had tried and they had failed, loosing some good people along the way. The two of them even blamed themselves for what happened.

He wished there was some way he could assure them that none of it was their fault. They could still save their friends. If this plan worked they would all be saved. Arthur could still hear the words Atropos had whispered to him, the things they would need to defeat the Old Mother. Her words had sounded like a riddle.

_Find the pure sword tainted with tragedy._

_Find the ones who are blind but see._

_Find the light that shines even in the darkest of hearts._

_Find the words that will bring us home._

It didn't make sense. How were they supposed to find any of these things? Arthur could still feel the small marble that lay in his pocket. They had one clue, but even that was surrounded by riddles. The soul it belonged to could be behind any of these thousands of doors. Atropos had told him to have faith and to trust in his destiny. Arthur didn't even know what his destiny was.

He wanted to throw the marble on the grass-covered ground in frustration, but then where would they be. Getting angry would not solve their problems. He needed to have faith. That was going to be a lot easier said then done.

"Where are we?" Jasper's question pulled Arthur out of his deep thoughts. The three of them looked around. They were standing near a cliff that looked out over waves that crashed against the rocks bellow. There was a small village in the distance. Arthur looked closer, squinting, and then he gasped.

"What is it?" Aida asked, her eyes wide. "What do you see?"

"There's smoke rising from the village." Arthur's voice sounded horrified. "It's on fire."

"That's no natural fire." Jasper came to stand next to him, looking down on the village bellow, his back to the cliff. "We were caught in one of those fires once." He looked back to Aida and she nodded.

"Soldiers from Camelot." She said what they were both thinking. "The village must have defied the king, hiding sorcerers. They wouldn't give them up so they pay the ultimate price."

"No." Arthur couldn't believe it. "My father wouldn't do that."

"Maybe not anymore." Jasper's voice was like stone. "He did around the beginning of the Purge though, when there were more of us."

"Maybe this is just another alternate world thing." Arthur tried to convince himself that what he was seeing wasn't true.

"I wish it were, but I think your world is very close to ours." Jasper tried to be kind, but Arthur could hear heartbreaking memories in his voice. "Burnings were rare occurrences though, even when we were still…" He hesitated and didn't finish his sentence, but Arthur knew what he was going to say. When they were still alive.

"Is there anything we can do?" Arthur asked, changing the subject.

"I'm afraid not." Aida sighed. "What we see are only shadows of the past and there is nothing we can do to change them. If we interfere much more then we already have it will bring the full wrath of the Old Mother down upon us and our quest will be for nothing. I just hope her wicked gaze isn't on us right now."

"Are you saying that she can see us?" Arthur felt a shiver run up his spine as if he could feel the Old Mother's eyes on him.

"She can see everything." Jasper lowered his voice. "She is probably enjoying watching us run around, so sure that we will fail that she doesn't need to raise a finger to stop us. Her vanity may be our advantage."

"I hope you're right or…" But Arthur was cut off as he heard the familiar sound of feet running towards them. He turned in time to see a familiar brother and sister trying to stay ahead of a small group of Camelot soldiers. Their brown hair was just as messy as the last time Arthur had seen them. He had never gotten a very good look at the boy but when he saw his sister he immediately knew whom they were.

"Jay?" The last time Arthur had seen her she had been pulled through a door by a bunch of shadows. This must be where they took her. This must be her room. She had found her brother. Arthur took a step towards them, but Jasper caught his arm.

"Don't, Arthur." He warned.

"She's the reason we're here." Arthur explained. "Merlin and I came here to save her and her brother. I'm not leaving here without them."

"You cannot disturb this event." Jasper hissed. "We were able to come with you because the event you interrupted in our room was not major. In each room there is one event you can never meddle with. The last moment cannot be changed."

"What do you mean the last moment?" Arthur tried to pull away but Jasper's grip was tight for a ghost.

"You know what I mean." Jasper pulled him further away from the children.

"Their last living moment." Arthur realized. He stopped struggling for a minute and looked back at the children. They were making their way towards the cliff. "How do you know this is their last moment?" Arthur turned back to Jasper.

"Ghosts can tell. When you have a last moment you will understand." Jasper tried to make him see reason. "There is nothing you can do."

"I promised to save them." Arthur argued, struggling again. "I don't break my promises." Jay and Owen ran past them. Jay glanced over at them for a moment, surprised, but Owen pulled on her arm and they kept going, the soldiers close behind.

"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days thinking like that! You can't save everyone!" For a moment the two of them were silent. Jasper's eyes were lowered and Arthur's were wide. He could sense this was about more then him.

"A friend of yours." Arthur put the pieces together.

"Joone." Aida whispered beside them. "She got too close to us and too protective. She was willing to do anything to keep us safe, to keep her promise to protect us."

"Look what happened to her." Jasper's voice sounded broken. "I'm just glad the Old Mother never got her soul."

"I'm sorry." Arthur felt Jasper's grip slacken and his hand fell away, falling limply at his side. He looked back to Jay and Owen who had made it to the cliff, stopping abruptly when they saw the jagged rocks bellow. They spun around to face the soldiers slowly approaching them.

"If we defeat the Old Mother you won't have to break your promise." Arthur heard Aida say. "If we do this everyone will be free."

"I know." And Arthur did know. He felt the marble in his pocket and he vowed that he wouldn't stop until the Old Mother was gone for good.

Jay and Owen tried to back away from the soldiers but there was nowhere else for them to go. Owen was shaking with fear.

"I don't want them to take me." He clung to his sister for dear life.

"I know, Owen." Jay took a deep breath. "I promised I would never let them take you. Have I ever broken one of my promises?"

"No." Tears made tracks through Owen's ash-covered face.

"Owen." Jay turned towards her brother. "Owen, look at me." Reluctantly he tore his eyes away from the advancing soldiers and looked up at his sister, seeing her kind, soft eyes.

"I will never let them take you from me." She tried to make her voice sound as strong as possible to vanquish her brother's fears.

"Jay." Owen cried.

"We'll always be together, you and me." Jay tried to smile but it was halfhearted. "No matter what happens Owen just remember that I love you."

"I love you too, Jay." Owen's eyes were filled with tears and Jay was doing her best to hold hers back, but even so some slipped past her defenses. She wrapped her arms around her little brother, wishing there could have been more she could have done for him, but this was all that was left. She promised that she would never let Owen be taken away from her and she intended to keep that promise, no matter what.

"Hold tight to me, Owen." Jay told him and he wrapped his small arms around her. "Together."

"Together." Owen agreed, and then they jumped. The soldiers scrambled forward to pull them back but they had already disappeared over the edge.

Arthur, Aida and Jasper ran to the edge but all they saw were crashing waves. There was no sign of the children anywhere. They were just gone and all Arthur could do was watch. He knew that the Old Mother had wanted him to see this, wanted him to know what it felt like to fail. She wanted to make him feel despair and doubt about their quest. Maybe it would end the same way, with them all falling.

But seeing this did the opposite for Arthur. Instead of making him doubt, it lit the fire inside him. He had no doubts. They were going to put an end to the Old Mother so she would never be able to do this again.

The scene seemed to speed up. The sun set and the moon rose high into the sky, the soldiers were long gone now, but the cliff wasn't deserted. The three of them heard the wails as someone cried at the edge. A young woman was kneeling there, her face in her hands as she wept. Her long wavy brown hair fell around her shoulders, shaking as her body was racked with sobs. A young man knelt beside her, holding her close as they mourned.

"The scene is changing, resetting the story. We need to move now." Aida grabbed Jasper and Arthur's wrists, one in each hand, and pulled them towards the door. The world around them seemed to be pealing away, the pieces swirling around, ready to create a new scene. If they didn't move quickly they too would be swept up in this storm. The young man and woman disappeared in front of their eyes. The pieces of them falling away.

Aida grabbed the handle and thrust open the door, throwing the other two inside and following close behind. The storm beat against the door as it closed, as if trying to grab our heroes.

But the door had closed and now they were somewhere new.

**Thanks for reading and please help me keep going with your life sustaining REVIEWS!**

**LightningBolt21: Hope you feel better soon and get back on your feet. Keep writing your story, because I will be looking for it.**

**Hope you all keep following because the differences between Arthur's world and these alternate ones aren't always easy to tell and the shadows are catching up with them.  
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**See you all next time.**


	13. Innocence

**Sorry, it took me longer to write this then I had hoped, but I had a math diploma to prepare for. **

**Well, here is a happier chapter for you, take a break from the downers. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Innocence

"Something bad is going to happen. I can just tell." A young Merlin gripped the axe in his right hand as he walked across the field towards the forest.

"Have faith in yourself." A girl with messy black hair came up beside him. She had braids woven into her dark locks. "You're stronger then you look."

"Plus if it doesn't work you can always use magic." Merlin's best friend Will jogged up with a grin on his face.

"Shush Will." The girl waved her hands at him. "Do you want everyone to hear?"

"Calm down, Eliza. No one is awake at this hour." Will brushed her concern away.

"You'll wake them all up with your loud voice, big mouth." Eliza stuck out her tongue at him.

"Big mouth?" Will coughed. "Well you're no bottle of sunshine yourself, you…" He struggled to find a word.

"Oh?" Eliza grinned. "No snappy comeback this time?"

"You witch's warty toad." Will blurted out.

"That's the best you can come up with?" Eliza laughed. "You are such a prat."

"What's a prat?" Merlin asked, turning around to walk backwards so he could see them.

"It's another word for fool or bottom." Eliza explained.

"Fool?" Will's face turned red. "Bottom? That's it."

Eliza yelped as Will tackled her to the ground, trying to pin her down, but Eliza was strong for her size. She started to get the upper hand. They managed to get to their feet at one point.

"So you wanna go, village boy?" Eliza pounced, knocking Will onto his back, but then he swung his foot at her legs, taking her down as well. She let out a gasp of air as she hit the ground. Will was about to go in for the kill.

"Enough!" A surprisingly loud shout came from the small form of Merlin. Eliza and Will froze, looking up at him. "You two need to stop fighting. Seriously, it's childish."

"We are children." Will reminded him, standing up. "Its just horseplay."

"No harm done." Eliza got to her feet.

"Can you at least try and get along, just this once." Merlin pleaded. "Don't forget that I'm the one carrying the axe."

"Was that a threat?" Eliza asked.

"Maybe?" Merlin shrugged.

"I'm so proud of you." Eliza beamed, giving Merlin a crushing hug.

"They grow up so fast." Will joked, and faked wiping a tear from his eye.

"Now, can we get back to the business at hand?" Merlin managed to say when Eliza finally let go of him.

"Of course." Eliza bowed dramatically and they resumed their walk towards the forest.

"And you're sure Hunith didn't hear you leave the house?" Will wanted to make sure. Merlin hadn't always been the stealthiest of kids.

"Do not doubt my powers." Merlin faked a regal voice, making the other two giggle.

"So which one are you going to cut down?" Eliza asked when they finally reached the trees.

"Preferably a thin one." Merlin looked around at the possible trees that he could cut down with the axe in his hand.

"Come on, go for a big one." Will urged him. "How about this one?" He pointed to one right at the edge of the forest. It looked almost as thick as Merlin was tall, and he was quite tall for his age.

"That would take forever. Probably all day." Merlin groaned, looking at his spindly arms.

"That's why you use magic. Chop it up into little pieces and take it home." Will was getting excited. "You'll never be cold again."

"I don't think we thought this through." Eliza started chewing on her lip, a bad habit of hers. "It will definitely surprise Hunith, but if Merlin cuts down this tree using his magic she is going to figure it out and then we'll all be in trouble." The three of them shivered at the thought of an angry Hunith.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Will nudged Merlin with his elbow.

"And every time we get in trouble it always seems to somehow be your fault, Will." Eliza glared at him. She heard a twig snap and her eyes quickly scanned the woods, looking for the source, but she saw nothing, nothing but shadows. "Anyways, we should hurry up. It's cold."

"Is the great Eliza spooked?" Will poked her.

"Shut up, Will." Eliza punched Will in the arm, not willing to admit that he might be right.

"Ow." He rubbed his arm where she had hit him. "Whoever came up with the idea that hitting like a girl means it doesn't hurt was seriously misled."

"That almost sounded like a compliment." She smirked.

"I am capable of saying nice things, even when it's not deliberate." Will mumbled under his breath, but Eliza still heard him. She opened her mouth to say something snarky in return but the sun caught her eye.

"We should hurry up with this." She advised. "The sun is getting higher in the sky and the early risers will be rising."

"For once I agree." Will crossed his arms.

"Never thought I'd hear that." Merlin grinned. Will and Eliza had been at each other's throats since Hunith found Eliza passed out in the rain at the edge of the forest. She had a terrible fever and almost didn't make it, but somehow she pulled through.

Eliza was an odd creature, not like any other girl Merlin had ever met. Instead of dresses she wore trousers and tunics. No matter how much they pried she would never say anything about where she had come from. But who didn't like a good mystery. Merlin hoped one day he would solve the riddle of Eliza. But the future wasn't set in stone…yet.

Merlin lifted the axe he was holding and prepared to swing at the tree's trunk near the bottom. Eliza and Will stepped back. Merlin swung. The axe bounced off the tree and Merlin stumbled back. He looked back at the trunk to see what damage he had done. There was barely a dent in the bark. His face fell.

"It was only the first swing." Eliza encouraged him.

"I doubt I'll be able to do any more damage then that." Merlin sighed, letting the axe fall by his side limply.

"Unless you use your magic." Will pointed out. "You'll never get any better at it if you are too afraid to use it."

"What if I don't want to get any better at it?" Merlin looked at Will. "You've seen what danger has come from having magic. Mom's told me to keep it hidden. She's afraid and maybe I am too. At least I have good reason to be."

"We shouldn't have to be afraid." Eliza stated. "We shouldn't have to hide. Being born shouldn't be a crime."

"Eliza." Merlin's eyes softened. He stepped over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want to hide anymore!" She suddenly cried.

"Neither do I." Merlin agreed. "But I'm afraid we don't have a choice in the matter, not if we want to keep our lives."

"Keep hiding for me at least." Will tried to smile, but it was halfhearted and it didn't reach his eyes. "I couldn't bear loosing either of you."

"Thanks Will." Merlin reached out to his friend and all three of them huddled together, holding tightly to each other as if at any second they would be torn away.

"You know what, I'm going to do this." Merlin pulled away and dropped the axe, looking up at the big tree.

"Do what?" Eliza eyed him warily.

"No one's around. Why can't I use my magic?" He shook out his arms as if getting ready for a fight.

"Go Merlin!" Will clapped, grinning.

"You better step back." Merlin warned. They didn't need to be told twice as they quickly hurried behind him, hopefully out of harm's way.

Merlin took a deep breath, staring down the tree. "I can do this." He told himself. Eliza and Will watched closely, wondering what was going to happen.

It all happened quite quickly actually. Merlin's eyes flashed gold, not a single word was uttered. For a moment everything was silent, then the tree groaned and started to lean. There was a smooth cut at the bottom of the trunk going right through. The leaves of the tree rustled and the tree fell, in the opposite direction then where they were standing.

Unfortunately the three of them realized too late what direction it was falling. They held their breaths as it fell towards a house that sat quite close to the forest. They sighed with relief when it landed just inches from the house with a giant crash. But then they heard someone moving inside the house.

"Isn't that Old Man Simmons' house?" Eliza asked.

"Shoot." Merlin froze.

"Run!" Will grabbed his arm and the three of them bolted away from the crime scene before the old man even got out the door. They laughed as they ran, feeling the adrenaline.

"You come back you little scoundrels!" The old man shouted, waving a stick in the air as the three children disappeared across the field.

"We definitely didn't think this through!" Eliza shouted, a grin on her face.

"When do we ever?" Will laughed and the others joined in.

None of them thought about how much trouble they were going to get into when Hunith found out.

Even a young prince found himself laughing for the first time in a while from his hiding place behind a tree where he and his two companions had watched the children. Arthur had felt a chill when he heard them talk about magic, but they were young and innocent, no monsters in sight. He felt himself waver slightly on his beliefs of the cruelty of magic.

"So that's the difference in this world." Arthur said aloud. "In this version Merlin has magic. Wouldn't that be strange?"

"Yes, it would." Aida said cautiously, sharing a look with Jasper, making a silent promise not to tell Arthur the truth. It wasn't the magic that was different. It was the girl. Eliza didn't exist in Arthur's world.

But they couldn't linger here. They were on a quest and they had to stay ahead of the shadows, which were slowly catching them up.

**Thanks for reading and please keep up the brilliant REVIEWS! They keep me going on a down day.**

**I am planning to write a full story for this scene so don't forget our sweet Eliza. There is more to her then it seems.**

**I've made an account on FictionPress under the same name where I'm going to be uploading my original work. When I'm done the rewrite for I Will Never Forget I will be posting it there for those who want to read it. Be sure to check it out.**

**If any of you have a story that you want reviewed then don't hesitate to PM me the name. I'd love to read it.**

**Hope you keep following because not even I know fully what is going to happen next. It's a mystery.**

**See you next time.**


	14. My Lady

**Wow, I went M.I.A. there for a bit didn't I. Sorry about that. I discovered FictionPress and got a little carried away.  
**

**For all those who are interested, I'm starting to upload my rewritten version of I Will Never Forget on FictionPress. It is now called The Eyes of Magic, and it is under fantasy. I am there under the same name. Hope you guys can find the time to read it and review.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my mad OCs and this messed up storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

My Lady

The cell seemed, from all points of view, inescapable. Merlin had tried all of the spells he knew to try and break the thick lock that bolted the large door shut, trapping them inside. He was starting to loose patients with the troublesome door. It was a door. He had broken through many of them before, so what was so different about this one? There was no sense of magic that emanated off of it. Even if it were, Merlin's power should have easily overcome it, at least after several attacks.

Will was starting to slip back into his defeated state, loosing all hope once more. For a moment he had believed that escaping might just be possible, but now it seemed all those fantastical ideas had been dashed, replaced with fears of being trapped forever. He had lost count of how long he had been imprisoned here, but a part of him had always thought it wouldn't be forever. Now that part was dying.

Merlin would not be so easily discouraged. He had set his mind to freeing them from captivity, to liberate his friend from this madness. Even if this was not his Will, he still felt the attachment of his childhood friend. He would not leave him here to loose his mind.

He backed away from the door, inspecting it for the hundredth time, as if the clue to how it would be open was somehow hidden there, but it was just a plain cell door. Yet it was more stubborn then any he had ever encountered. Merlin had a dreadful feeling growing in his stomach, the sensation that time was ticking and they had little of it left.

They had to get out, they had to find Arthur, and they needed to find a way to return the Old Mother to her deep slumber. Merlin hated to think of how many other souls were trapped in this horrific place, doomed to suffer their nightmares again and again. He wanted to promise that they would all find peace soon, but he didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep.

If it weren't for the presence of Arthur, then Merlin would have sworn to not leave without freeing all the souls. They had to fulfill the prophecy and free magic. How many people in this world needed to be saved? But Merlin had never dreamed that the dead would be among them.

"It's impossible." Will leaned against the back wall, his head hanging.

"Don't say that." Merlin wanted to shout in frustration. Will was too easily defeated, nothing like the Will he had grown up with. Maybe that was another difference between his Will and this one, but Merlin had a sense that this Will and his were not so different. This Will had been part of a rebellion, staying loyal right up until his own execution.

What had the last moments of this Will's life been like? Did he feel fear, betrayal, or perhaps abandonment by his fellow conspirators? Why hadn't the other Merlin been able to save him? So many questions that he was afraid to ask, afraid that it would be a touchy subject. He didn't want this Will to relive those moments. He wouldn't be like the Old Mother in that way. Though she had physically created the scenes for these characters to run through, reliving it inside ones mind could be argued as equally painful.

Cornelius Sigan had been quiet for some time now. Merlin didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that the dark sorcerer had gone silent so suddenly, but he was thankful for the silence. Perhaps Sigan had grown tired of yelling, which drew no response from Merlin. He had become bored, his entertainment dull.

Merlin and Will had escaping to keep them busy, though it bore no fruit as of yet. They hadn't even made a dent in the door. Will had suggested that perhaps the door was not the only way out of the cell, but what seemed like hours of searching they had come up with nothing.

This whole expedition seemed to be useless. The cells were built so that no one could get out, and if someone got past the doors the shadows would be there to take care of them. One thing Merlin had noticed was that the cells looked newer then the rest of the house. He guessed that the house had been built first and the cells had been an attachment added on after the fact.

Merlin walked to the back of the cell and leaned on the wall next to Will; his magic had taken quite a bit of energy out of him. His breathing had grown heavier. He rested his head against the wall.

"There has to be a way out." Merlin wasn't going to let his hopes dwindle, not in this place. He feared that if he lost hope for even a second he would loose himself to the madness. He had already seen Will start to slip. If they didn't find a way soon there may be no fighting it, not for much longer.

"I only ever managed to open that door once." Will confessed.

"You did?!" Merlin whipped around to look at him, astonished that he hadn't mentioned it sooner.

"It was mostly my cellmate's doing though." He admitted. "Together we managed to pry the door open enough for one of us to slip out. She said she had a plan and that she would come back for me. She urged me not to loose hope."

"What was she like?" Merlin's voice softened, sensing painful memories in his friend.

"She was strong and she had courage." Will began. "She was the leader of our small group of escapees. The five of us came so close to getting out, but the shadows found us."

"What was her name?" Merlin asked.

"Kevia." Will's eyes seemed distant as he remembered her. "Loyal and true hearted, but she had a tendency to take the weight of the world on her shoulders. It has been too long since I've last seen her. She promised she would come back for me and she is not one to break her promises. I fear the worst for her and our friends."

"I'm sorry." It was all Merlin could think to say. He understood how Will felt, remembering all those he had lost as well. It must be maddening not to know where they were or what had become of them.

He was about to open his mouth to say something else but the sound of someone at the door silenced him. Their eyes grew wide as the sound of someone rattling the handle on the other side of the cell door. It almost sounded as if someone was jingling a key in the lock. Neither of them wanted to think of why someone was trying to open the door. The first thing that came to both of their minds was that the shadows had returned to take them to a much darker place.

Then the jingling stopped and the door creaked open, but only a crack. They heard the sound of feet against the stone hallway outside as someone ran away from their cell. Merlin approached the door and tried the handle. It opened. He peeked out into the hallway and glimpsed the sight of a blue-cloaked figure dashing away from them.

"Come on!" Merlin wasn't going to miss this chance to escape the cell and Will was right behind him. The two of them sped after the stranger, wondering who could have gotten their hands on the key to their cell.

"Wait!" Merlin called after them, but the stranger did not stop. Their pace didn't even slow.

Will and Merlin skidded to a stop when the cloaked figure completely disappeared from view. The two of them were panting. Even though Will no longer had proper lungs to breath with, he still remembered what it was like to be out of breath.

"Who was that?" Will gasped out.

"I have no idea." Merlin wheezed back. "I didn't get a good look at them. What now?"

"We have to find a way out of the Pit." Will decided. "Getting out of the cell was one thing. Now we need to get out of the dungeon."

"You didn't think this far ahead, did you?" Merlin looked over at him questioningly.

"No, I did not." Will admitted, trying to grin, but a wholehearted grin wasn't possible in this darkness.

"Will?" Merlin suddenly stopped, staring at something past Will. "All the doors in here are supposed to be locked, right?"

"Yes." Will said slowly.

"Then why is that one open?" Merlin gulped. Will turned around and saw the door that had caught Merlin's eye. It looked different from the others. It was thicker and made of metal, and it was agar.

"What do we do, do we go through it?" Will took a step towards the door. "Maybe whoever freed us opened this door too."

"Maybe." Merlin nodded, but he was still unsure. "Or maybe its another horror the Old Mother has concocted for us."

"I'm going in." Will decided, taking hold of the prison door's handle. "I'm already dead anyway. What's the worst that could happen?"

He pulled open the door and stepped in. Merlin wasn't going to let him go in there alone, so he stepped through the door, his guard raised. The room was dark and looked nothing like the cell they had been in. He looked down at his feet and it looked like he was walking on darkness, no floor. The whole room was darkness, no walls and no ceiling. Merlin could feel the crushing darkness all around him. Whatever had been locked in here was powerful, and most likely very dangerous.

Merlin's eyes scanned the room. The darkness was never ending, and that's when his eyes spotted it, the inconsistency, and her pale skin contrasting against the black around her. Will and Merlin froze, their eyes wide, but Merlin's heart was beating the fastest, as if it was breaking all over again.

"Freya?" He stammered, and it was, but she did not respond to their presence. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be raised off the ground, floating in the middle of the dark, trapped.

"It's her darkness." Will gasped. "That was her punishment, to be trapped in her own darkness."

"You know her?" Merlin looked over at his friend.

"Freya was with us when we tried to escape." Will's eyes lowered. "It seems all of our worlds had something in common."

"What was that?" Merlin asked.

"You." Will looked up. "You make quite an impact on people you meet, my friend."

"How do we free her?" Merlin looked back to the girl he had watched die in his arms, Will's words still hanging in his mind.

"We can't." Will told him. "But you can. She said you were the one to pull her out of the darkness, showing her that she was loved."

"I…" Merlin didn't know what to say. Freya looked the same as the last time he saw her, still wearing the same dress she had when he set her adrift in that boat, until it was consumed by his fire. He took a step towards where she was floating.

Then he reached up and took hold of her soft hand. They felt the darkness pulse around them, not willing to let go of its prisoner so easily. Merlin gripped her hand, letting all of his emotions and memories of her flow into that single touch, as if calling out to Freya, and she heard him. Her eyelids fluttered. Merlin pulled her down to earth. She looked so graceful as her foot came into contact with the ground, like an angle.

Merlin gasped, and he could hear Will yelp behind him as the darkness screamed. He couldn't wait for Freya to come to, so he scooped her up in his arms and sprinted for the door. Will wasted no time in following them. As soon as they were out the door, Will slammed it behind them, feeling the darkness beat against it.

"Freya?" Merlin shook her gently. There was something different about Freya's presence. It wasn't like Will's presence, which didn't seem quite right, he didn't feel like Merlin's Will, but with Freya it was different. She felt real, she felt like Merlin's Freya, his lady of the lake. His heart leapt as he saw her eyes slide open. She blinked and then found his face.

"Merlin?" The expression on her face was a cross between confusion on joy.

"Hello, my lady."

**Thanks for reading and please keep up the brilliant REVIEWS! **

**I have to say I like how this chapter turned out. It wasn't tragic, but not as bright as my last chapter. I'm trying to create contrast between chapters so they aren't all the same.**

**Question for you all, are there any characters who died on the show that you want me to bring back maybe? **

**Hope you keep following, because the first piece of the riddle Atropos gave to Arthur is coming into play. **

**See you all next time.**


	15. Tainted Purity

**Finally back with a new chapter. How exciting. It really has been a long time.**

**I'm going to try and update faster now, hopefully at least once every week.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Rated for violence.**

**This chapter is kind of like a prequel to my story Mercy, so it sort of explains the origin of two of the characters.**

**Please read and enjoy.**

Tainted Purity

Arthur, Aida, and Jasper stumbled through another door into a very cold hallway. It wasn't the hallway lined with doors, behind which were the trapped souls collected by the Old Mother. This hallway resembled the ones Arthur was used to walking down back in Camelot. He moved over to the large windows on the other side of the hall from them. He peered out, seeing the large stone courtyard.

"Where do you think we are?" Jasper felt the need to whisper.

"It isn't Camelot." Arthur didn't take his eyes away from the window as he spoke. He knew Camelot like the back of his hand, and this wasn't it. Beyond the courtyard there was a small city that circled the castle, but, unlike Camelot, the city didn't look as cut off from the castle. He could see a moat beyond the walls of the city and a forest across the drawbridge. The night was dark and the moon was high in the sky. Arthur breathed out, seeing his breath freeze in the cold air. The whole place gave off a sense of abandonment. Out of all the rooms in the Old Mother's maze he had walked into, this one seemed the most haunted.

"What happened here?" Aida tensed, looking left and right down the hallway. There was tragedy in the air. The souls trapped here would soon answer her question, and she would wish that they hadn't.

The three of them heard footsteps coming from their right, tapping quickly against the wooden floors. Jasper pulled both Aida and Arthur into an alcove next to a statue of polished armour. The footsteps seemed to quicken, getting louder, and there was a slight skip to them as if whoever it was kept looking back. Then she was there, passing the alcove in her elegant green dress. The neckline cut across her shoulders in a straight line over her chest, leaving her shoulders bear. There was beautiful embroidery around the hem of her dress and the ends of her sleeves in golden thread.

Arthur felt like time slowed as she passed them. Her curly golden hair bobbed around her head as she looked back again. Her skirts were clenched in her fists so she wouldn't trip on them as she ran. Arthur saw the panic in her sapphire eyes. She couldn't have been more then fourteen years old, just a child.

Then she was gone, running down the hallway, and before Arthur could think twice about what he was doing, he ran after her. Jasper and Aida hissed protests after him, but his mind didn't process them. They were just white noise in his ears, but he knew that they were following him.

Light came from the courtyard down bellow. Arthur glanced over to see torches marching across the cobblestones. There were shouts. He couldn't make out their words, but they sounded taunting and angry, enough to strike fear into anyone's hearts. Even without hearing what they were yelling, Arthur knew that they made the girl with the golden hair fear for her life.

He heard her gasp as she turned a corner, bumping into someone else who yelped at her sudden appearance.

"Clemence!" the woman gasped, tears coming to her eyes as she took the young girl in her arms. She had a tall elegant form, and she wore a graceful blue dress with fur trim around the hem and collar that was clipped at the center with a broach. A cream coloured veil covered her hair, but the soft features of her face were so similar to the girl's.

"Mother!" For a moment the girl smiled before she burst into tears, burying her face in her mother's furs. "I'm so scared."

"I know, my darling." Her mother stroked her golden hair soothingly with her slim hand.

"They've come for _it_, haven't they?" She pulled away from her mother, looking up into her face with tear filled eyes. "I heard father talking about it. He said they'd come."

"I fear his predictions are coming true," the lady's voice quivered, but only for a moment before shoving the worried emotion away, trying to be calm for her daughter. "Clemence, where's your brother?"

"He was in his room the last time I saw him."

"We must find him." She took her daughter's hand firmly in hers and pulled her down the hallway after her. Her footsteps were hurried as she headed for her son's chambers.

Suddenly the scene changed, and they were all in another hallway, watching as the woman and her daughter ran, constantly checking behind them to see if they were being followed. A young boy ran along side them, his small hand gripped in his older sister's. He had dirty blonde hair, almost like Arthur's, and he wore a simple blue tunic over his tanned trousers. His small boots tapped against the floor as he strained to keep up.

Arthur noticed that the woman was carrying a long object wrapped in a brown cloth, holding it closely.

"Where's father?" the young boy asked.

"Quiet, Ben," his sister shushed him, but she couldn't deny that she was wondering the same thing.

Their mother pushed through a wooden door leading away from the hallway. Arthur and the others managed to slip in before she slammed it shut, locking it just as shouts came from the hallway where they used to be. She stumbled back from the door, ushering her children away towards the far wall where a tall tapestry was hanging.

"You can't stay here," she said, pulling the tapestry to the side to reveal the wall behind it. She placed her hand flat against it and pushed. There was a popping sound as part of the wall caved under her touch. It swung open like a small door, leading into a tunnel.

"Take this." She handed the package she was carrying to her daughter. "You must keep this safe. If it falls into the wrong hands then even fate will be cut down."

"Aren't you coming with us?" The fear in Clemence's eyes grew as the gravity of what her mother was saying finally dawned on her.

"I will keep them off your trail for as long as I can." Their mother took two cloaks from a wardrobe nearby, returning to wrap them around her children to keep them warm.

"I don't want to go without you." Ben cried as his mother wrapped the cloak around him, securing it at the neck.

"Oh, my sweet Benedict." Her smile was sad as she regarded her son for what might be the last time. "You will be carrying my heart with you. I'll always be there, watching over you." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead before standing up tall. Even in this moment of crisis she looked regal, a perfect lady.

Clemence ran forward, wrapping her thin arms around her mother, startling her. Ben squeezed in as well, drying his tears on his mother's dress.

"You must be brave now, my darlings." She patted their heads, kissing them lightly. Slowly, she pushed them away, and towards the tunnel, leading away from the chaos. She tried to keep her calm appearance, even when she heard banging against the locked door they had come through. Ben crawled into the tunnel first, looking back with tear filled eyes at his mother. Clemence was next, holding the parcel tightly to her as she got in, but she hesitated, looking back one last time at her mother.

"We'll see you again," Clemence chocked on her words, trying to build hope where there was none.

"I hope so." A tear escaped from her mother's eyes. "But right now I need you to run, sweetheart. I need you to run so far and so fast, and don't look back, not for anything, not for anyone, not even me."

"I love you." That was the last thing Clemence managed to get out before her mother closed the hidden door panel, securing it in place, leaving her children in darkness.

The woman swung the tapestry back into place, standing up tall and trying to keep her tears at bay. She heard the door splinter as the enemy fought to get in. She quickly grabbed a metal rod from its stand by the fire, pointing its tip towards the intruders. They piled into the room, swords drawn.

"Where is it?" one of them barked.

"That is no way to speak to a lady," she scolded them like she would her children, holding herself with such grace that a few of the brutes took a step back. As a child she had learned how to use a sword, and her skill was unmatched among her siblings. She'd even beaten her husband once.

"You're not a lady anymore," another laughed. "Your castle is burning to the ground as we speak. Soon it will be nothing but a pile of ash. Your husband has already fallen, and you'll be next. We'll make it quick if you tell us where it is."

"I was never one to go down without a fight." She held the metal rod higher.

"You know you'll loose and yet you still fight?" The one who had laughed, he must've been their leader, was confused by her. She didn't seem intimidated by them at all.

"If I'm going to fall, then I'll be taking a few of you down with me." She spoke and then lunged at them, yelling her last battle cry.

But Arthur and the others didn't see what the fallen queen's fate would be. The scene changed again and suddenly they were standing at the edge of a forest. Two small figures on a horse rode away from the burning city, heading for the forest. They crossed the drawbridge, looking back one last time with tears in their eyes, knowing in their hearts they would never see their parents again. Clemence was riding behind her brother, her arms on either side of him to keep him on as she gripped the reigns, urging the horse onward. Their cloaks flapped in the wind behind them.

They galloped into the forest, riding right past Arthur, Aida, and Jasper, and, just for one moment, Clemence looked at them, her pain filled eyes meeting Arthur's. His heart stopped. Only captured souls were supposed to be able to see them.

"Please tell me she didn't see us." Arthur looked frantically at Jasper and Aida, but they would not meet his eyes. "She can't have."

"I'm sorry, Arthur." Jasper placed a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"And the boy?" Arthur knew the answer, but still he asked.

"We'll see soon enough." Aida's expression had become cold, and she walked away from them, following the path of the horse. They caught up to the children soon enough. They had stopped and Clemence was hopping down from the saddle, the brown parcel in her arms.

"Stay here," she told her brother. "I'll be right back. I promise." She hurried off, disappearing between the trees. Ben shivered on the horses back, wrapping his cloak further around himself. The night was dark and cold. His young eyes darted around, dancing over the shadows between the trees, as if monsters were hiding there. Before long, they heard the footsteps as the girl returned, expertly remounting the horse, but she didn't have the parcel anymore.

"What did you do with it?" her brother called back to her.

"I hid it somewhere no one would ever find it," she said as she urged the horse into a gallop.

Arthur and the others ran after the horse, but they didn't have to run far. The arrow made a whizzing sound as it flew through the air and the horse cried out, rearing up and throwing the children. They hit the dirt hard. The wind was knocked right out of them. Soon brutes surrounded them. They must have been waiting for them, knowing they would try and make a run for it. Two of them grabbed the children by the cloaks and dragged them to their feet. They pulled knives from their belts and held them to the children's throats. Arthur gasped and stepped forward, but Jasper held him back.

"We searched every crack of that place and couldn't find it anywhere." The largest of the brutes stepped forward, holding his hands behind his back as he paced beside them. "You're father wouldn't tell us where it was, and neither would your mother, but I'm sure she knew. She gave it to you didn't she, her precious little angels, hoping you would escape with it and disappear forever? It's too bad that will never happen."

"We don't know what you're talking about." Clemence spat at his feet.

"Feisty, just like your dear departed mother." He grinned down at her devilishly. "But I doubt you'll be as strong. I know you know where it is."

"We don't, we swear," Ben cried, and the brute turned on him. "We don't even know what it is."

"I don't believe you." The large man played with a sharp knife in his hands, twirling it just inches from Ben's face.

"Stay away from him," Clemence seethed.

"So, little girly wants to go first." He grinned and walked towards the young girl. "I'm not stupid. I know you won't talk. You're too much like your mother, but your brother, on the other hand, is a very different story." He placed the cold blade against the skin of her neck, gesturing to the man holding her to take his knife away, and looked over at Ben. "If you want to survive tonight you will tell us where you've hidden it. Tell us, or I'll cut your sister's throat."

Ben was sobbing now, shaking under his captor's grip. His wet eyes met his sister's strong ones, asking the silent question, searching for comfort and support. He was only a boy.

"Don't tell them anything." His sister shook her head.

"Do you want to die?" The man holding the knife to her throat was loosing his patience.

"I'd die for my people in a heart beat." Her eyes were dry now, all fear gone, replaced with confidence and acceptance of the events that were soon to follow. The inevitable. "My people are my family, and I'd die a thousand deaths for them."

"That can be arranged." His eyes held no mercy. "Now, boy, last chance. Where is it?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not playing games!" the man shouted. "Do not lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"Fine. Then your fate is of your own making," he sighed and looked down at Clemence, his blade still held to her neck. "Say goodbye, little princess."

"Ben! Close your eyes!" she yelled. Ben did as he was told.

Arthur and the others watched from behind a tree. He only saw Clemence from the back. All he heard was a small gasp and a gargle as the man moved his knife in a swift movement, with a small spray of blood. She collapsed to the ground, unmoving, and Arthur didn't need to see her eyes to know that they were void of all life. He had to bite back a cry of rage and stop himself from tearing the men apart. This was the moment he couldn't change. It was only a shadow of the past. These events were already set in stone, unchangeable.

The man, though Arthur didn't see him as quite human anymore, moved towards Benedict, whose eyes were still closed.

"I wasn't lying," he whispered.

"I believe you." Arthur didn't see the man move his knife this time as one of his brutes blocked his view. All he heard was the sound of Ben's small body hitting the ground. He gasped, and a few tears slipped from his eyes.

He's still in shock when the scene ripples and suddenly it is day. The sky is full of clouds and the day is grey. The trees around them look almost dead; all of the leaves have fallen from their branches. Their bark was grey like the sky. He felt Aida place her hand softly on his shoulder. He looked up at her, meeting her curious eyes.

"You're crying," she says.

"Of course I am." He uses his sleeve to wipe away the tears. "I just watched two children loose their lives. Don't you feel their pain?"

"You see death differently when you've experienced it first hand." She lowered her eyes.

"Do you feel at all?" The stress was starting to get to Arthur.

"Not in a way you would understand. We can only feel how we remember it feeling when we were alive. We were never in this situation, so we don't know how to feel." She explained. "How does it make you feel?"

"Useless."

"There was nothing you could have done." She tried to sooth him with her words.

"Didn't you watch people be ripped away before your eyes? Don't you know how that feels?"

"It wasn't the same," was all she said before removing her hand and walking away. Jasper watched her go.

"She saw it." Arthur almost didn't hear him. "Our friend, the one we told you about, Joone. Aida was there. She saw the house burn, knowing our friend was inside. That kind of loss, not really knowing what happened or how long Joone was alive after the house started burning, it's not the same."

Arthur was silent. His eyes found Aida, leaning on a tree not too far away, staring at the grey clouds rolling by. He thought he knew these ghosts, only to be reminded that they were more complicated then they seem. Maybe he'd never really know them, never truly understand.

"Arthur?" The voice made him spin around. His blue eyes met sapphire. Clemence was still wearing the green dress she died in. She almost looked alive, but her eyes gave her away. They'd lost their life the day she died, replaced by a kind of coldness.

"What are you doing here?" She looked confused. "We aren't supposed to meet here, not in this place, not yet." She took a step towards him, but then stopped abruptly, her eyes widening. "You're not Arthur, not our Arthur."

"No." Suddenly Benedict appeared behind her, but she didn't turn when he spoke. "This Arthur is not from our memories." He looked older somehow, not the same little boy from before. He had lost his innocence in death.

"Then how is he here?" Clemence tilted her head and she looked Arthur up and down.

Ben walked past his sister and towards Arthur, stopping only a foot away. He reached out towards him, but then flinched and pulled his small hand back as if he had been shocked.

"You're not a shadow at all," he whispered, almost to himself. "You're whole."

"She's never taken whole ones before." Clemence shifted, uneasy about the whole thing. She straightened her neck and narrowed her eyes at the strangers. "But you're still here for the same thing Merlin was, aren't you?"

"Merlin was here?" Arthur felt hope rise inside him.

"Not your Merlin," Ben said softly. "The one from our memories. We were ghosts long before the Old Mother came for us, much longer."

"We stayed to guard what our mother entrusted to us. We had to keep our promise," Clemence told them. "That is why you're here, right?"

"We came here by accident," Jasper said.

"Nothing's an accident." Clemence's voice was ghostly, almost like another voice was speaking under hers.

"What did your mother give to you?" Arthur asked.

"Come with us." She beckoned them with her pale finger. The children led them through the tilting trees. They made no sound as their feet crossed the ground, no rustling of the leaves or snapping of twigs. It was eerie.

They came to a stop in front of a tree that looked like all the others. Clemence merely stared at it, unmoving. Benedict looked between her and the tree. Then he knelt down in front of it. Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw something carved into the trunk of the tree. It was a small hourglass. Ben touched his finger to it, pushing down. Part of the hourglass fell away to reveal a keyhole.

"Do you have the key?" Arthur asked.

Clemence looked up into the branches of the tree, taking a few steps back, answering his question. He looked up and spotted the old rusted key hanging from a string. He was about to ask how they would get it, but was cut off when he heard Clemence mutter something under her breath.

"What are you-" The key came loose from the tree and floated down to them. Clemence caught it and looked back at Arthur. He just managed to glimpse electric orange leaving her eyes.

"You have magic." It should have been obvious, but Arthur was still trying to get used to the fact that Jasper and Aida were sorcerers. It was all very overwhelming.

"Our parents taught us," Ben said, and for a moment his eyes almost looked electric blue before returning to their original colour.

"I thought eyes usually flash gold when magic is performed," Aida spoke up.

"We are from a time long before yours. There was more then one magic back then." Clemence told them. "The old magics that now lay dormant in your time." She handed the key to her brother, who placed it in the lock. It clicked when he turned it and the tree shook. The bark cracked and Arthur could see the outline of a door. Ben pulled on it and pried it open, pulling out the long package wrapped in brown cloth.

"What is it?" Arthur felt like he should know the answer.

"Kadee," Clemence whispered. "The name means 'pure'. At least it used to be."

Ben unwrapped the cloth to reveal the sword it had concealed. He held it very carefully, sure only to touch the cloth and never the blade.

"Take it." Ben held it out to Arthur. "It is what you need."

Arthur reached out for it, but Ben pulled it away again.

"This sword comes with a warning," he said. "It has seen horrors and tragedies. It remembers it all and it still weeps. Be careful when you hold it or its memories will drive you to insanity."

"Many a man has gone mad just by holding it," Clemence spoke as if from memory. "I hope it is different with you."

"Me too." Arthur took the sword from Benedict, careful only to touch the cloth. "The pure sword tainted with tragedy. One of the things Atropos told us to find."

"The cutter of the life thread." Clemence nodded. "She cut all of our life threads."

"I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Don't be, Arthur Pendragon," she sighed. "Please, take Kadee and free us from this torment. We can't bear these memories much longer."

"We miss our parents terribly." Ben took his sister's hand. "We only wish to join them now in the afterlife."

"We will do our best," Arthur promised.

"We know you will." Clemence almost smiled. "You always do."

"But be careful, this one may have been easy to find," Ben gestured to the sword in Arthur's arms. "But the others will not be the same. She won't make it easy for you."

"I wish we could help you more." His sister said. "But there is little we can do now, except wish you good luck."

"Thank you, for everything."

"There's your door." She nodded her head behind them. They turned to find a random door standing in the middle of the woods, though that didn't seem so strange anymore.

"Maybe we'll meet again." Arthur turned to them one last time.

"Maybe," Clemence sighed, squeezing her brother's small hand.

Arthur, Jasper, and Aida walked away from the children. They had one piece of the puzzle, one step closer to defeating the Old Mother. If only it was so easy, but what lied beyond the next door would be anything but.

**Thanks for reading and please take a moment to comment to help me with the next chapter. **

**Where do you think this story is going? Will Arthur and the others succeed in their plan to defeat the Old Mother? Perhaps there is a little more to this story then they thought.**

**Hope you stick around for the next chapter, because Merlin and Arthur are getting closer to finding each other. **

**See you next time.**


	16. The Rules of the Labyrinth

**Another chapter of the story, another step further into the labyrinth of the Old Mother. **

**Warning: This chapter may contain spoilers for my other other story 'Always'.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this maze-like storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

The Rules of the Labyrinth

Merlin helped Freya to her feet. She was unsteady on her feet, wavering and would've fallen if Merlin hadn't been next to her, ready to catch her. He couldn't take his eyes off her. His mind was struggling to wrap around the fact that she was really here. She was right here in front of him. He wanted to pull her in and hold her, never letting go, never again. He thought he'd never see her again after he set fire to her boat. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, and he never wanted it to happen again.

The same thing must've been going through Freya's mind as well, because her eyes were locked on his as if that was what was keeping her from falling. They were the only ones in their little world and nothing else mattered. They were frozen in that moment.

Will could see the emotions moving between the two and how fast their minds were racing. It reminded him of the Merlin and Freya from his own timeline. He remembered how they'd sit in silence for hours just happy to be in each other's presence. He had laughed back then, but those were during the happier times. Not for the first time, Will wondered what had happened to his friends after he'd died. Did they win the war? Were they all still together? He hoped his death had not been in vain.

He would've let them stay that way, but their situation wasn't going to allow it. The shadows would soon be upon them if they didn't move quickly. It hurt to have to interrupt their reunion.

He cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have to move."

"It's good to see you, Will." Freya's smile was sad.

"You too, Freya." The memories of their capture ran through Will's mind and he shuddered. "So, we need to figure out how to get out of here. Any ideas?"

"We could try finding the opening I fell through to get here," Merlin suggested.

"Well, it's a start," Will shrugged. "Lead the way."

"I think it was this way." Merlin led the other two down the cold stone hallway, not letting go of Freya's hand for even a second. He was staring up at the ceiling, looking for the opening he had fallen through, hoping that it would still be there.

"Is that it?" Freya pointed to a spot in the ceiling where a number of stones had fallen, now laying smashed on the floor.

"I think so." Merlin hadn't committed what the hole had looked like to memory. "Now we have the problem of how to get up there."

"I can handle that part." A smirk graced Freya's pale face. She let go of Merlin's hand. His instincts told him to reach out and take hers again, but he stopped himself, watching her closely as she went to stand under the opening, stepping around the fallen stones. Her dark dress swept up the dust as it was dragged over the rock. She gasped and hunched over. Merlin stepped forward, wanting to go to her side, but Will stopped him.

Merlin watched wide eyed as Freya began to change, but it wasn't like the first time he'd seen her change into the cat-like monster that had been her curse. This time her transformation wasn't complete. He watched as her hands became claws, and fangs descended from her teeth. Two dark furry wings burst from her back. She roared at the pain.

"Freya!" Merlin reached for her, but Will was still holding him back.

Her dark wings spread out behind her. She gasped, falling to her knees and Will finally released Merlin to run to her. He hesitated before touching her arm.

"Freya?" he whispered gently. She shuddered, finally opening her eyes to reveal slit pupils and yellow irises.

"I'm okay, Merlin," she reassured him, taking deep breaths. "Since coming here I've somehow gotten more control over the change. I can use it to help us."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Merlin was looking at her with deep concern, and it made her smile, reminding her of the short life they'd spent togther.

"I'm sure."

"You're Freya is amazing, she is," Will said. "She fought off the shadows, protecting the rest of us for as long as she could."

"I should've done more." Freya looked up at her friend.

"You did more then enough." Will smiled and then looked up at the hole above them. "Is it big enough to fly through."

"It should be." She looked up as well, nodding.

"Do you have enough strength?"

"I guess we'll have to see." She got to her feet, taking Merlin's wrist tightly in her clawed hand and reaching her free hand towards Will, who took it. "You two better hold on tight."

Merlin felt the wind get knocked out of him as Freya took off from the ground, shooting up towards the opening, flapping her dark wings. The tunnel wasn't as long as they'd expected. Before long, the three of them shot out the other end, hitting the floor on the other side hard. All three of them were gasping for air. Merlin was the first to regain himself, taking in their surroundings. It was dark and it looked like they'd landed in a stone room, almost like a throne room, but there was no throne. Instead there were two stone altars at the centre.

"I don't understand," he coughed. "When I fell through that hole I'd been in a hallway before."

"That's the rule of the labyrinth, nothing is ever the same twice. No door will ever open onto the same room. That's why it's so easy to get lost and trapped in it's twisting hallways." Freya came to stand next to him, slipping her hand into his. Her claws had reseeded, along with her fangs, but her wings were folded on her back and her cat-like eyes were peering around in the dark. "This place is as alive as you and me." Somehow her words made the room feel colder and more sinister.

"How did this place even come into existence?" Merlin looked around.

"The only person who knows anymore is the Old Mother herself." Merlin felt Freya's grip tighten on his hand. "That is, if she really is a person. No one knows what she looks like."

"I've heard she has a hundred eyes, each one looking a different direction so no one can ever sneak up on her." Will came up next to them. "Others say she is the house, but I don't think that one's true."

"Kevia said she's only half human, and the other half is a spider." Freya lowered her eyes.

"Kev always did like her stories." Will span in a circle to get a better look at the room.

"I don't know. She seemed pretty sure."

"She also said she knew a woman completely made up of plants. How many of those have you seen?"

"Do you guys see any doors?" Merlin interrupted their conversation as he looked around for a way out. Something about this place made him want to get away as fast as he could. It felt too familiar and it tugged at his heartstrings.

"I don't see any," Will said. "Maybe there's a clue over there." He headed for the two stone altars at the centre of the room.

"Will, wait!" Merlin called after him, but either Will hadn't heard him or he was ignoring his warning. It hurt Merlin how much that was like his own Will. Merlin didn't have to call him again, because he'd already stopped just a few feet before the altars.

As Freya and Merlin got closer, they saw what had stopped Will dead in his tracks. What they'd originally thought were altars had round glass covers over them that they hadn't been able to see from afar, and under the two glass covers were two bodies, perfectly preserved. This was a tomb.

Merlin looked closer at the bodies of the two girls. There was only a small space between them, just enough for one person to walk through. The girl on his right had short brown hair and a jagged scar running under her right eye. She was wearing a patchy green dress and a long coat overtop. The fabric looked rough and old, torn in places as if it had seen many a battle. Her small hands her clasped over her stomach.

The girl on his left was taller, maybe a little older then the other girl. This one had dark wavy black hair, almost like Morgana's. Her dress and coat were similar to the girl next to her, except it was violet. One of her hands rested on her stomach, but the other had fallen next to her, partially open. It looked like she was holding something. Merlin looked closer, peering through the glass. It looked like a crumpled piece of paper.

"Eris." Freya read the name carved into the stone at the feet of the girl with the violet dress. "And Gaia." That was the girl with the green dress' name. "They both say _Always_ under their names." She traced the shape of a pentagon that had been carved next to their names as well.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Will gasped as Merlin lifted the glass cover over Eris' body. Merlin didn't answer him as he took the crumpled piece of paper from her pale hand, but her hand didn't feel cold when he touched it. It was warm. He looked closer, and then looked back at Gaia's body.

"They're breathing." His eyes widened and he slowly lowered the glass cover over Eris again.

"What?" Freya looked at Eris and Gaia again. Merlin was right. The movement was small, but their chests were rising and falling.

"Are they sleeping?" Will asked.

"I think so."

"Can we wake them up?"

"If the Old Mother left their souls here asleep, then I don't think she wants them awake." Freya looked down at Gaia's peaceful face. "Maybe she's scared of them."

"The Old Mother, scared of something? I don't think so," Will scoffed, shaking his head.

"There must've been some reason why she didn't want them awake. Maybe she didn't want them interfering. Or there's someone she has trapped here that she doesn't want them going near," Merlin guessed. "One of her plans they would mess up."

"What's that?" Will pointed to the paper in Merlin's hand.

"They may be asleep, but I think they're still trying to help." Merlin smoothed out the crumpled paper, peering down at the words that had been hurriedly scribbled across it. He looked confused.

"What is it?" Freya asked, peering over his shoulder.

"It's a spell," he said. "I know this spell. It animates pictures and statues. I used it to bring a stone dog to life once."

"I would've liked to see that, but why would she be holding that spell?" Will thought. "What is she trying to tell us?"

"I don't know," Merlin admitted. "But I think we're supposed to use it at some point."

"When?"

"We're just going to have to find out. It's just one piece to the puzzle, or one part of the riddle."

"I was never good at riddles," Will shrugged.

"Neither was I."

"Merlin." Freya tugged on his sleeve to get his attention and then pointed at something past Will. They turned to see a door standing not too far away. It wasn't a part of the wall. It was just standing in the middle of the floor.

"Well, it's the only door we have." Merlin took Freya's hand and the three of them headed for the door. Will hesitated for a moment before opening the door, remembering what Freya had said. There was no way of knowing where this door would lead them, but there was no where else to go. Going back down the hole was out of the question. So Will shoved the door open, falling through, soon followed by his friends.

All roads in a labyrinth lead to the centre. There is no such thing as a dead end. Our heroes aren't lost; they are going exactly where the labyrinth wants them to go.

**Thanks for reading and a REVIEW would be much appreciated. **

**Thank you to everyone who has managed to hold on this long. I know my slow chapter updates is annoying. **

**Hope you keep following, because getting into the labyrinth is easy, but in the end, will our heroes make it back out.**

**See you next time.**


	17. Get Up!

**Finally getting back into the rhythm of writing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline. **

**Hope you enjoy.**

Get Up!

A haunting wind blew across the clearing, chilling Arthur to the bone. Arthur, Aida, and Jasper were standing in a grassy clearing in a forest. The door they had come through had immediately disappeared as soon as all three of them were through. Another shiver ran through Arthur's body. The inconsistency of the doors unsettled him, making him fear that they would soon find themselves in a room where there would be no doors. The feeling of being trapped was creeping over him, growing stronger the further they ventured into the labyrinth.

Their eyes were drawn to a small hill at the centre of the clearing where a beautiful twisted tree was growing. The silver leaves that hung from its branches glistened in the few rays of sunlight that peeked through the branches of the taller trees above. The twisted trunk of the tree on the hill had engravings carved into its bark, their golden colour contrasting against the darkness of the trunk. The tree's roots crawled out of holes in the earth, reaching across the hill, holding on tightly as it tilted at an odd angle.

Arthur had been so taken in by the mysterious beauty of the tree that he had not noticed that dark figure that stood beside it. Her head was veiled and bent as she looked down at a small piece of stone, a marker. Arthur had seen these kinds of markers before, usually used to mark out someone's final resting place. The young woman wasn't just staring down at a stone. She was staring down at someone's grave.

The sound of someone yelling pulled Arthur's attention away from the woman in black. There were two other finely dressed persons standing not too far away by three horses. They too were dressed in dark colours, but not as dark as the lady in black. The man wore a dark shade of blue, but there was a red cape thrown around his shoulders. Arthur recognized it as the ones that the knights of Camelot usually wore. The woman next to him had dark skin and was wearing a deep lavender dress and she had a dark blue cloak wrapped around her shoulders. The two of them looked at the woman in black with sad eyes.

The man cupped his hands around his mouth and called again, but Arthur could not hear what he said. The woman in black looked up this time, but Arthur still could not make out her face under the veil. She did not say a word, but only raised one of her hand, gesturing for the other two to give her just a moment longer.

"I thought you might find your way to this place," a dark, silky voice said behind them. Arthur's head whipped around, his eyes coming to rest on a woman standing in the darkness of the trees behind them. He recognized her right away. She hadn't changed since the last time he'd confronted her.

"Nimueh." The name tasted bitter on his tongue.

"Arthur." There was a wicked smirk on her face as she eyed the trio with her piercing eyes. "I see you've picked up a few strays on your way here, and the Runaways no less. They are considered heroes by many of the souls trapped here, but quite a few see them as betrayers, evil to the bone."

"Their hearts don't even come close to comparing to your dark heart," Arthur spat.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Arthur Pendragon, of all people, would stand to defend those with magic. If only you could do that in your own world." The smirk did not leave the high priestess' face.

"The magic in my world corrupts people," he argued.

"Does it now?" There was a secretive twinkle in her eyes. "I can guarantee you've met a number of kind hearted sorcerers."

"Nimueh," Aida cut in.

"My goodness, she speaks." She feigned surprise.

"You know who this Arthur is?"

"I hear many things down here. I hear the whispers." Nimueh winked at them. "There is a whole one among us, someone from the outside whose heart is still beating in his chest. I've been waiting for you, Arthur."

"How did you know I would come here?" Arthur asked.

"Let's call it a feeling."

"Where is here?"

"We're not too far from the lake of Avalon, but you wouldn't know where that was." Arthur could tell she was mocking him. "I'm guessing this scene is not familiar to you. This must've never happened in your world."

"What?" Her words made his blood run cold.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize them. They haven't changed that much." She gestured to the other three people.

Arthur looked at them closer, his eyes starting to pick out familiar traits, the kind of things that don't just disappear over time. He recognized the woman standing next to the man first.

"Guinevere?" He looked closer. There was no mistaking it now. It was her. As one of the pieces came to light, the others started to fall into place. The man next to her was blonde with a beard. Arthur tried imagining him without it.

"I always wondered why you let your beard grow so long." Nimueh tilted her head as she looked over at the older version of Arthur. "Carelessness was the only thing that came to mind."

"That means…" Arthur looked to the woman in black who had crouched down in front of the marker. She looked back to make sure the other two weren't looking. The older Arthur and Guinevere were caught up in a conversation, spoken in hushed voices. The woman in black turned back to the marker, slipping a small piece of charcoal from her cloak. She touched the end to the stone and began to draw something. The movement of her hand was fluid and without hesitation, creating the swirling mark.

"The Triskelion," Nimueh breathed. "How fitting."

"Who is she?" Arthur asked. None of the others needed to speak a word. The woman stood and turned, walking back over to the horses. She looked back at the grave one last time, lifting her veil from her face. Arthur's breath caught in his throat.

"Morgana." The last time he'd seen her she'd been holding a dying Merlin in her arms, but these two Morgana's weren't the same. The Arthur here hadn't forced her to change and become someone who would have to run a sword through his heart to stop him.

"It seems that one is always destined to have a hard life." Arthur could have sworn that he'd seen another emotion in Nimueh's eyes, but it was gone before he could put his finger on what it was. It was almost as if the witch understood Morgana's pain. Nimueh shook her head. "It feels like I've seen this scene a hundred times. Sometimes I think the Old Mother is trying to make me feel regret. Who knows, maybe another hundred times and I'll start to feel something, but I don't really know what regret feels like. I never felt it in life."

"Who killed you?" Arthur found himself asking.

"It wasn't you, if that's why you're asking, and why do you assume someone killed me?" She shot him a look.

"I just don't see you dying of natural causes."

"True," she admitted. "I wouldn't go down without a fight."

"So, how'd it happen?"

"That's a very personal question to ask a ghost, Pendragon." Some of the ice had melted from her eyes. "It's a secret I will take to the afterlife, not a story I'll be sharing around the campfire, sorry."

Arthur shrugged. It was worth a try. He found his eyes wandering back to the centre of the clearing. "And the grave?" Part of him already knew the answer, but still he needed someone to tell him. Someone would always have to tell him before he could start believing it.

"You have a very loyal manservant." It almost sounded like Nimueh was trying to console him. "His death was noble."

"Was it you, did you kill him?" There was hatred in Arthur's eyes when he looked at the witch.

"Yes, and no." Her smirk was returning to her lips.

"He didn't deserve to die." His voice rose in volume, echoing in the silent forest.

"Not many do." She shrugged.

"You…"

"I didn't let him die just for the fun of it." Anger tainted her words. "You insult me. I am a high priestess and we have honour. I kept the promise I made. Merlin was the one who came to me to negotiate the trade. I am a woman of my word. He offered his own life in exchange for yours. You were dying, again, but somehow this time it was different, and he couldn't save you on his own. I agreed to take his life and bring you back breathing. I don't murder people without thinking of the consequences."

"You tried to kill me once," Arthur pointed out.

"I didn't know your importance yet." She shrugged. "I was just out for revenge. I eventually got it, but it wasn't by killing you."

"Did you think of the consequences when you tried to kill Joone?" Aida's voice was low and cold. Arthur had almost forgotten that Jasper and Aida were even there.

"Joone was a threat to magic." Nimueh turned her cold eyes on the girl. "She was an abomination."

"She was your cousin, your family!" Aida looked like she'd been waiting a long time for this. "You're the one with the monster inside."

"You weren't the only one who mourned my cousin's death." Nimueh narrowed her eyes. "She never stopped being family. I was doing what I saw to be right."

"Well, your version of what's right has always been a little twisted," Jasper cut in.

"No disagreement there." Nimueh pursed her lips. "But this isn't the time for us to have it out with each other. I've heard what you're trying to do, getting rid of the Old Mother and all."

"How?"

"I told you before, whispers, and if I've heard about it then so has she." She looked around as if she could see someone watching them. "You're moving too slowly. If you want to stop her then you have to move faster. I can get you back to the hallway, but after that you're on your own."

"You're helping us?" Arthur was confused.

"Hey, I want that old crone gone as much as you. I don't like being restricted here. I don't do well with confined spaces."

"How are you so sure you can get us there?" Jasper was wary.

"Even here I have a certain level of influence." She grinned. "I can get you through the door, but that's as far as I go." She waved her hand and an ordinary door appeared next to them in the grass.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Arthur eyed her.

"Because you don't wave a choice," she snapped. "It's either this or the Old Mother will keep making you run around in a circle and you won't get anywhere. You won't have noticed, but she's already started manipulating your path. Just getting you here almost drained me. Now get going before her shadows show up."

"Thanks, I guess." Arthur took the door's handle and pulled. The door took a few good tugs before it finally relented and opened to reveal the familiar hallway on the other side.

"Didn't I say I was a woman of my word?" She smirked. "And something else you should know. You'll know you're getting close to the centre of the labyrinth, and her, when the whisperings get louder."

Jasper and Aida were the first through the door. Aida shot Nimueh a look that was less then kind before going through, but the witch stopped Arthur before he could follow them.

"This doesn't make us friends, but I know you're looking for your Merlin." Her voice was no more then a whisper. "And I can tell you that you're getting close, but I warn you that you may not like what you find. The Old Mother will never let you have the advantage."

"What are you saying?"

"Sorry, times up." Nimueh subtly glanced over at the shadows the trees were casting. Some of them had started to move. "Go. I'll hold them off."

"Nimueh."

"I said go!" She pushed him through the door and turned to face the shadows. The door slammed behind him.

"Did Nimueh just save us?" Jasper was shocked.

"I think so." Arthur looked around. The hallway didn't look any different then before, but he knew it wasn't the same. Aida ran her hand along the wall of the hallway, eyes closed, taking deep breaths, as if listening.

"Can you hear anything?" Jasper asked.

"Sh." She snapped. Her hand came to rest on the handle of one of the doors. She opened her eyes. Arthur and Jasper watched with bated breath as she slowly turned the handle, pulling this new door open. Arthur peeked over Aida's shoulder. It didn't look like a room at all. The space was completely white, and then Aida started to scream, falling away from the door.

"Aida!" Jasper knelt down, taking her into his arms. Her eyes were wide.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Close the door!" he ordered.

"What is it?" Arthur asked again, closing the door to the strange whiteness.

"It was gone. It was all gone," Aida muttered, eyes unseeing. Jasper tightened his hold on her, his eyes filled with concern.

"What was that place?" Arthur didn't like being left in the dark.

"That place wasn't anything." Jasper's voice was quiet and Arthur could almost hear a slight quiver in it. "It wasn't anything at all. Whatever used to be there is gone, completely."

"What happened to it?" Arthur didn't like where this was going.

"She happened. We souls aren't just here for her entertainment." Jasper looked up at Arthur. "When she's done watching us run through our misery, when she's done breaking us she…she consumes us." Aida started to cry.

"Consumes?" Arthur thought things couldn't get any worse, but he was wrong, oh was he wrong.

"She eats up our entire existence, and then it's as if we never lived at all." Aida's voice was so small Arthur almost didn't hear her. "And that's what it looks like when she's done with us."

"Nimueh was right. We're running out of time. We have to stop her before she destroys anyone else." Arthur gripped his sword at his side.

"You sound so noble when you say it like that," a sweet voice said beside him. "To think that witch actually puts her faith in you."

Arthur slowly turned, fearing whom he would see. The girl looked the same as she had just before the shadows grabbed her, dragging her through a door and back to her room where she would die over and over again.

"Jay?" The surprise in his voice was obvious.

"Hello, Arthur. I heard you got to see the moment of my death." The innocence was gone from Jay's eyes, now replaced with something much darker. "Quite a spectacle, wasn't it?"

"I don't understand. How did you get out of your room?"

"Same way as you got these two betrayers out of theirs." She eyed Aida and Jasper with a cold eye. "I used a door. You shouldn't have brought them with you. They'll just end up stabbing you in the back. They're just trying to save their own skin."

"That's not true," Jasper snapped, still holding Aida.

"You were going to leave the rest of us behind," Jay spat. "You were going to escape and leave the rest of us in our eternal torments."

"We would have saved you if we had known how," he tried, but Jay wasn't listening.

"Enough of your lies. The Old Mother wants to see you." The girl took a step towards Jasper and Aida. "She says you two have been very bad, and she's not happy about it. You've disobeyed her for the last time."

"You're working for her?" Arthur gasped.

"Always was." Her smile was cruel. "And you fell right into her trap. I did warn you, but neither of you listened."

"You betrayed us," he seethed.

"Very good," she giggled. "You're finally catching on. You were always so oblivious to the obvious. I knew tricking you would be easy, but when even Merlin fell for it, well."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid I don't have time to swap sob stories. I have a schedule to keep and she doesn't like to be kept waiting." Jay walked over to Jasper and Aida. Arthur tried to stand between them, but she just walked right through him, sending a rocking shiver through his body, forcing him to his knees.

"You should have taken Nimueh's warning more seriously." Jay knelt down to whisper in Arthur's ear. "The Old Mother will never let you have the advantage." Arthur couldn't move, almost like he was frozen in fear. She got to her feet, laughing.

"You stay away." But Jasper's words were useless to stop her. The last thing Arthur heard was her cold laughter. There was a gush of wind and then she was gone, taking both Jasper and Aida with her.

"No." This was his fault. He had been the one who convinced them to leave their room and help him. He'd put them in danger, just like Merlin, and just like his friend, they had been taken away from him. Arthur feared what would become of them. He felt alone, betrayed, and lost, not sure where to go next.

"Get up!" someone yelled at him. "You have to get up. You can't let her win." Arthur looked up, spotting a dark figure standing further down the hallway. It was the one with the bird's mask that he'd seen before, the one who had saved him from the two faced girl. They almost looked like they were made of smoke, their image wavering.

"Get up!" they yelled again and then disappeared through another door, leaving it open behind them. Arthur knew he had to follow them, and somehow he found the strength to drag himself to his feet. He breathed in, filling his lungs. He could do this. He could stop the Old Mother. He could save them all.

All he had to do was get up.

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**Hope you stick around for the next chapter, especially those who liked my story Buried. **

**See you then.**


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